Editor’s Note: Our sales team just wanted a short bit from one of our vendors, describing their journey in creating some of the “conscious” merchandise we’ve carefully curated in our store. But when Andrew Newman of Conscious Stories sent us this lovely, thoughtful email, we knew we had to share the whole message with our readers. Perhaps it will inspire your own journey. Share your thoughts on your search for your own “purpose” in the comments!
***
“Purpose” is a very important subject for me and has been for many years. I was a fourth-generation family jeweler, so in many regards, I’m living my second purpose. Walking away from the first one was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done but it catalyzed my search for a personal purpose as opposed to an inherited one.
Discovering my connection to creativity, writing, children, social-emotional learning, and healing took many years of personal development work during which I began to trust my creativity.
One day, I wrote a poem and knew that it needed some pictures. I also knew which friend of mine could draw those pictures. My first book was born. I had no idea it was going to be the start of a publishing empire!
I’ve learned a lot about the metaphysics of purpose and have helped many clients with aligning with their higher calling. This is a subject I’m passionate about.
In the 15 years between leaving the family business and starting the Conscious Stories, I took many small steps towards finding my purpose. Each time, that step was informed by desire and discomfort. Mostly discomfort when I think about it! If I didn’t like what I was doing I made a change towards my emerging values.
When I had created four books, I stepped back to look at what I had and realized a strong correlation with my training as a healer and therapist. It was clear that all of my clients and classmates were resolving issues that started in the first six years of their life.
The work of unraveling negative belief systems as an adult was — and is — so much effort. It makes sense to me to support children by developing positive belief systems which I won’t have to untangle at a later age.
I think of purpose as Personal, Local, and Global. This can be seen in my work. You will understand a lot about who I am through the stories I write. In many ways, I am the main protagonist in each book, but the challenge the protagonists face are not unique to me but very natural, human challenges.
On most weekends I can be found at a craft market with a pop-up shop meeting the local community, and we have over 40,000 books sold globally. Books make a great product for the expression of my purpose as they are far-reaching, have a long lifespan, and can deliver a clear expression of my values. These are clear in the core lessons.
Children need a healthy loving connection from adults…I am here to help parents foster that connection, knowing that children who go to sleep feeling safe, loved, and belonging wake up feeling confident to be themselves. This makes our world safer as they grow into healthy adults.
-Andrew Newman
Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels
This is such a lovely story. My hope for the future is that more and more of us are able and willing to follow that inner voice that leads us toward our true purpose. Thank you for sharing.