Keeps us paranoid is what it does. We, and I mean Earth’s inhabitants, have been on the same economic roller coaster ride many times before—at least once a decade—and some deadly variety of the flu comes around at least as often, so the current headlines shouldn’t have people so paralyzed by fear they’re afraid to live their lives.

 I’m certainly not. In fact, I’m going to throw caution to the wind six weeks from now and uproot my life to venture to another state and see what opportunities exist there. I know: it sounds irresponsible, doesn’t it? Or maybe it’s the adventurer inside me that refuses to buy into the media hype and honestly believes, “where there’s a will, there’s a way.” I tend to operate that way—on blind faith—and I’m rarely disappointed.

 Of course my dad thinks I’m crazy. When I told him I plan to move from Colorado to Oregon, I heard the unspoken question in his mind: “Who in their right mind walks away from a comfortable Corporate America job (with benefits!) to start over with nothing in a state they’ve never even been to before?” Me, that’s who!

 And I know lots of people who envy me my daring, though they’d never dream of doing something like this themselves. No, they, like my dad, prefer to stay locked in their semi-secure situation hoping, praying it stays secure. Their lifestyle, to me, seems as crazy as my own unconventional plans. I mean we’ve only got one life to live, right? So how ridiculous is it to be afraid of what lies outside our comfort zone?

 What if all the inventors and scientists and doctors throughout history feared the unknown? What if no one asked, “What if?”

 It’s our passion and curiosity that drives us to discovery, and by denying ourselves the opportunity to consider the infinite possibilities of life, we remain small and inhibited and average. I don’t know about you, but ‘average’ doesn’t work for me. I’m going to live my life trying to be the best version of me that I can be and the hell with the headlines. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

I had already decided earlier that day to blog on the subject of finding your purpose and then, wouldn’t you know it, there was Oprah talking about it. I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised because Life Purpose, Self-Empowerment, and Personal Fulfillment are getting lots of lip service these days. Thank goodness. It’s heartening to see people examining their souls to discover what’s most important in life. Especially with corporate America hacking away at the workforce and everyday jobs drying up like the Arizona desert in August; it’s a relief to know that people are finally looking inward for answers.

Existentialism—the quest to learn “Why am I here” and “What is the meaning of life” is no longer merely a midlife quandary—it’s now a mainstream occupation.

We’re finally beginning to understand what the Law of Attraction and spirituality teachers have been trying to share with us all along: That in order for humans to survive and thrive, we’ve got to tap into the wellspring of energy that connects us all so we can live “on purpose.”

But how do you know what your purpose is? For some people, their “calling” is intuitive. For the rest of us, it’s a frustrating task trying to figure out what our lives are supposed to mean; what we’re supposed to be doing to make the world a better place. I think that’s what all this soul searching is about. We want to make a difference. We want to feel fulfilled, like we’re not just taking up space on the planet, serving our time til we die.

The guest on Oprah’s show was a stay-at-home mom who chose that path specifically to live her purpose as a wife and mother, but she was wondering how she could find fulfillment in that. The answer was, to paraphrase, to find joy in everything you do—the big stuff and the mundane—to enjoy every “now” moment. Which might make you wonder, as the woman did, how much joy can you get from cleaning the bathroom or doing the laundry?

The key, according to spiritual leaders across the globe, is to “be present,” or, as Eckhart Tolle says, to enjoy “the power of now” every moment of your life. To take pleasure in serving the world no matter what you’re doing. To love giving yourself and others the benefit of your attention. It sounds a bit “out there,” but think of it this way: you have the choice of whether you hate what you’re doing or whether you’re doing it from a place of love—an expression of your appreciation for yourself. Wouldn’t you rather choose to feel love over hate?

I can’t say that I personally love scrubbing the toilet at home, but I do enjoy doing chores because it gives me a sense of accomplishment, like I’m treating myself like royalty by taking care of myself. When you apply that philosophy to every single thing you do, you are living on purpose. It’s not so much about what you do but about how you do it. Purpose is all about being, not doing. Or, as Leo Tolstoy said, “If you want to be happy, be.”

I will admit that I’m one of the fortunate still-employed, but even during rough times—and believe me, I’ve had my fair share—I’ve never felt completely hopeless the way some people do now.

My ex, for example, told me that he’s getting pink slipped in the next few months, and he’s in total crisis about it—to the point he’s physically sick. Like having a coronary is going to improve his bottom line. Don’t get me wrong, I do I sympathize with him, and with all the other unfortunates who are struggling right now, but I’m appalled when I hear about people who’ve gotten so overwhelmed that they just check out of life—commit suicide—because they’ve lost their job or their home. To me, that’s not only sad, it’s selfish.

It tells me that people have lost their perspective on what’s really important in life; that they think their job is who they are, or their address defines the quality of their humanness. Makes me want to grab ‘em and demand: “How can a temporary glitch in your comfort zone cause you to deny the world the gifts you have to offer? Do you really believe that anyone’s better off without you? Ask the people you’re leaving behind—the people who love you not because of where you work or how big your house is. They’re not going to feel better off.” None of us will.

The truth is: everybody’s got something to offer—even a smile or a kind word to someone who’s feeling worse than you can make a huge difference in the world. You know, the ripple effect: toss a stone into a lake and watch as the ripples grow wider and wider until they gently lap at the opposite shore. One little stone, one tiny kind gesture, can reach the heart of another, which can touch the soul of another. Who knows where the goodness will end?

So maybe it’s time to re-evaluate what’s truly important in life and focus on discovering our real purpose. And enjoy the ripples coming our way.

As Carl Sandburg said: The best things in life are not things.