From SGIUSA, I'm Cassidy Bradford, and this is Budability.

The weekly series where I talk with Buddhists from all walks of life about the power we each have to change our lives and the world around us.

Welcome back to our monthly series, Budability Shorts, where we unpack a Buddhist concept

you might have heard in a recent episode.

A few weeks back, I spoke with Heidi Hayashi of Connecticut.

While overworking herself in a job she didn't like, a Buddhist friend asked her how

she'd been doing.

Heidi began crying, saying, I'm just trying my best.

The friend said, no one would say you're not doing your best, Heidi, but for what purpose are you doing your best?

She started to reflect on why, realizing she was trying her best to meet the high expectations of others.

But not really because she actually wanted to live her life that way. She started to chant about

the purpose of her life. That was kind of like a new starting point. Like, okay, this is my life. life but then how do I really want to live my life

when I was chanting that way what I was always thinking was what was my mission because

everyone has a mission there must be a reason I'm here at this time I started to chant in that way

yeah what is my mission and how do I really want to live my life yeah so I kept chanting

day after day I finally decided being told that this is my life and started to really feel that way.

Then I thought, you know what? I have nothing to lose. I will go. So, yeah, I just grab like a few days

clothes in a small suitcase and I changed the U.S.

So I remember the day I landed to an airport with that small suitcase.

Pretty much nothing with me. But I was so happy. Heidi used the word mission, which Buddhists sometimes

use to mean purpose. While the word might conjure up images of spy movies or a mission to space,

neither of those quite resonate with the Buddhist use. Buddhist philosopher Daisakakouka often writes about how each person in the world has their own unique purpose.

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