DEAR ABBY: All my life I have followed orders. I haven't been able to determine my own path. When I was young, I did what my mother told me. When I was old enough, I joined the Marines, and I did as they said. After I separated from the service, I did what my social group expected. After I had a child, I did what a parent should do to protect and provide. That took the next 35 years of my life.
I am 60 now, retired, and the master of my ship. Without "orders," I don't know where to go from here, and I am adrift. They say find a passion, do what makes you happy. But I am not passionate about anything. I like many things but feel no passion.
Being alive makes me truly happy. I love every day God gives me. But what to do with these days eludes me. What shall I do? Can you help me? -- FOLLOWING ORDERS IN THE EAST
DEAR FOLLOWING: Ralph Waldo Emerson said: "The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you lived and lived well." Perhaps if you concentrate more on doing just one thing a day for someone else, you will discover the passion you are looking for. I can't promise it will work, but it may be a step in the right direction.