3 Non Negotiable Virtues of a Fulfilling Life [Part 1]

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years”.

–Abraham Lincoln

One foreboding morning, I was walking to work (Normally I should be driving or using public means, but I was short on bus fare), feeling rather low and immaterial in life. My marriage was in total shambles. My wife’s needs were not being met and in return mine were also  not being met. I won’t bother you with the details because I know that is not what you want to read today.

“As I kept on reflecting, before long I was brought to those moments of “Dear God…help me.” At that moment, I realized what I lacked in my life”.

Lawrence Namale

As the feeling of helplessness pervaded, I came across a sign of Watoto Child Care Ministries, boldly announcing their rescue, raise and rebuild program that they have been doing with kids for years.

People normally talk about your life flashing before you just before you pass on, but on this particular day, in a matter of seconds, despair, despondency and feelings of failure overwhelmed me. At the same time, I had to shut away tears from my eyes because I recognized that a visionary was at work and was doing something worthwhile in life, and that I too could do something that contributes to a better society, but was helpless!

As I kept on reflecting, before long I was brought to those moments of “Dear God…help me.” At that moment, I realized what I lacked in my life. You see, I believe with all of my heart that these three things are what’s needed for a satisfying and fulfilling life. And no, they are not any bit tangible. They are all virtues. Without these three, any amount of ‘success’ will feel useless in the end and probably leave one with lots of regret.

In this post, I will focus on one of the biggest of them all that any fulfilling life should have. It is big because with it, the fulfillment is there both during the life and even when the visionary is ebbing away at their deathbed. It is the fuel and motivation for any vision. It is what brings the visionary from the state of helplessness to achievement.

1. Unction:

All unction is inside. For the most part, all unction is untaught. You cannot train me to get unction. Why? Because unction is a function of the Divine Purpose. So what is unction? Unction is the internal pull in our hearts for a cause, the internal wrapping of our hearts onto something. It is the unseen energy behind our passionate pursuit of something worthwhile.

Unction present in our hearts is one of the indicators that we are partnering with the Divine. In fact, I cannot think of any partnership between the mortal and the Immortal that did lack this Divine Energy. There are counterfeits or shadows to unction today. We see them in sports, business, politics and governance, education and religion. These might not necessarily be negative, but in the end a life depending on them leaves one empty.

Without Unction

Without it, nothing worth doing will be done. Ultimately a whole span of life spent without unction will in the end result in hopelessness and regret.

Can you imagine a life without unction? Of course you can. Many people live their lives unction-less daily. It is easy to detect that kind of life. At one level, it is a life filled with many feelings of worthlessness and uselessness. At another level, it is a life filled with many activities in terms of ‘job descriptions’ that totally schedule our life calendars for decades on end. The body part that corresponds and functions with unction is the heart.

What unction is not

1. Unction is not a motivation to get something done that benefits yourself. At the very center of it all, unction is the cry of someone else in your heart to use all means possible to do something about what you care most, what matters to you.
2. Unction is not a special feeling that comes at the right conditions. In fact, unction is like the anchor of a ship…yet it is indeed the anchor in our hearts and souls that we carry everywhere we go, and we use to hold steady when we are not moving. Therefore, unction is a mainstay in our lives.

1. Unction is not a preserve of the religious class. It is not a preserve of only those who hold microphones and deliver a message. Although it is such a beautiful thing to see a Spiritual man or woman with unction, many people around the world have had it. It is what Nelson Mandela had when he said these words:

“I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die”.

Indeed, even among the religious class, you do not need to be a leader of sorts to operate with unction. Unction is the heart energy available to everybody to pursue what matters to them.

How To Get Unction?

1. Sometimes, unction is recognized by tears. In fact, almost always, when there are tears there is unction. Yet, I can tell you that unction is perhaps one of the weakest of these three…if left alone. Can you remember a time when you were so moved…either by something bad happening of something good that you a) Wished you were a part of and/or b) You were grateful that someone was doing something about it?
2. Asking. Unction is of the Divine. You need it, it’s already put in you. Now what you need to ask is for its revelation.
3. Review of Values: Nobody has a value system that is separate from their Unction.

In the next post, we shall look at the second virtue needed to have a fulfilling life. Stay tuned.

Question: Do you have unction in your life?