Hello Universe: Finding Purpose

As a child, I think I took for granted how clear life was. There's a nice little script the grown-ups give you, and you just have to play your part as best you can. You wake up, go to school, come home, watch tv, go to bed. No need to worry about much else. It was simple. It was nice. I never considered how much I relied on the external structure of this play to keep my life on track. This continued right through university. Sure, it was stressful and difficult at times. My part in the play became a bit more demanding. I longed for a peaceful break where I could kick back and relax for a bit, without anyone dictating what I said or did. But then I blinked and it was over. I was out in the world without a script to follow. The play was over, and I was free to do as I pleased. Finally, I was free!

...now what?

Hello Universe was written shortly after I graduated uni and made my way into the world. Without a script to follow, I was forced to search out direction on my own. But how? I had all these big questions and no one to answer them. It felt like I was calling out into space and hoping for a supernatural answer. I was beseeching the very universe to send me a message. Show me what I so desperately need to know. Answer my questions. Please...

Hello Universe, give me a sign

Point me to where my destiny lies

My mind is open my spirit is willing

Hello Universe is anyone listening?

Who am I? What am I meant to do? And most importantly, am I alone in this struggle?

I talked to several friends and surprise, surprise: noone has any idea what they're doing. We're all lost and confused, stumbling forward through time. Trying our best to stumble roughly in the right direction.

This prompted an image of a whole bunch of people all shouting into the darkness, just out of earshot of one another. And I wondered what if they were to all meet. Maybe they could find their direction a bit easier if they looked together. It can be easy to get so focused on the ground directly in front of your feet, that you don't think to look up and look around. But I think if we looked at the people around us, we'd be surprised how similar their struggles are to ours.

A choir of inquirers singing the song of the strayed

Alone and yet together, all have lost their way

Like yours their path is hidden, and though it may not reveal itself soon

Listen to the songs that surround you, you may recognize the tune

Hello Universe is about searching for meaning in this big, black universe. And how maybe the meaning is found in the searching itself, and those we might meet while we look.