Some of us know from a very young age what we are here for. Others of us don't come to it until much later in life. There is no one size fits all formula. I remember that in college my freshman roommate knew exactly what she was going to do, and she had a plan to get there. I, however, had no clue and watched her with awe and envy as she followed her plan.

All I knew for myself is that one day I wanted to get married and have a family - after I traveled and explored and experienced life. But you know the phrase: Man plans, God laughs! I was married by the time I was 21, a mom at 23, had our last child by 28 and spent my 30s and 40s raising and educating our children.

My goals beyond motherhood stayed well hidden as I spent those years doing mother things. I loved those years but once over, I wondered, "Why on earth I am here and what am I to do with the rest of my life?"

For several years in my mid-40s and beyond I took class after class as I searched for my passion. The answers unfolded slowly, like a rose with hundreds of layers of petals, sometimes excruciatingly slow and sometimes so fast I couldn't keep up. But it was always an adventure and I realized that my yearning for adventure in my teens turned out to be an adventure not of traveling as I had imagined it to be, but an adventure of the spirit and soul as I explored healing, color, spatial concepts, energy, the world of spirit and how to make this world a better place.

Unlike my freshman roommate, who had innate musical talents and an uncanny ability around creativity, I did not discover any innate talents until midlife. I realized I had an ability to listen to people, a deep and sincere desire to support and assist others in their growth and an ability to read spaces and environments, to understand color and to do soul readings.

When I was 20, none of this was even remotely in my wheelhouse. I had no idea about any of these fields. I needed to mature, to age like fine wine, to come into my fullness as a crone, not as a young adult.

Our level of wellness on all levels - physical, emotional, mental and spiritual - depends on finding our reason for living: our bliss, as Joseph Campbell named it. Without that bliss, we are unanchored and do not have a container* in which to thrive.

Whatever your passion is, I encourage you to connect to it and create a life around it. If you want to teach kids to play baseball, become a coach. If you want to become a motivational speaker, become one. If you want to become the best knitter around, do it! We need all kinds of abilities and there is nothing that is not needed or of value.

Your life will be less stressed and you will find a higher level of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health that will enhance your wellbeing for the rest of your life.

* "Container" as used here is an energetic body with firm boundaries where we are safe and protected and in which we can more easily carry out our mission.