When adolescents begin to wonder about the purpose their life might serve they are often told to begin their search for purpose by deciding what issues bother them in some way, and then decide if they might be able to do something about them. Maybe one has a soft spot for children and would find it rewarding to work with orphans. Maybe one is particularly bothered by injustice and would find fulfillment in the opportunities for pro bono work that a career in law might provide.
Or, from the other end, when seniors look back to discern what purpose their life may have served, they are told to look for patterns in what they have done. Maybe they can now find some greater underlying meaning in the seamingly unrelated recurrences in their lives.
Using a bit of both techniques — combining awareness of what happens to me again and again with the acknowledgement that I find it bothersome — I think I’ve discovered my purpose in life: helping the relatives of deposed African rulers withdraw vast family fortunes from secret bank accounts in Switzerland and the United States.
I was surprised the first time I was chosen to be a trustworthy partner in this most confidential and lucrative business arrangement. For starters, I had no personal acquaintance with the individual asking for help securing his rightful inheritance and, despite what he presumed, I had never heard of his deposed father nor knew very much about the former government of his country. (Unlike my naïveté in those early days, I now have a passing knowledge of the former governments and previous political leaders of Zaire, Congo, Liberia, and Ivory Coast. That last one is actually known as r the success of this transaction, which highly required my utmost confidentiality and secrecy due to the family’s present predicament. I knew I must act fast because it was for a good cause, and they sincerely would appreciate my willingness to assist as soon as possible.
So what’s my purpose on this Earth? I’m not sure. But whatever it is seems to be wrapped up somehow in political intrigue, shady bank transfers, and purloining a 20% stake in the hidden fortunes of wrongfully accused former generals, may their souls rest in perfect peace.