Finding Purpose

An essay on the true source of sustaining joy.

“Inspiration comes, but it has to find you working.” – Pablo Picasso

A few months ago, I visited a prestigious college preparatory school with my family. This storied institution boasts an impressive campus, an active alumni base, and, more importantly, a well-established tradition of discipline and excellence.

At one point during our visit, the dean of schools addressed the auditorium full of students, parents, and their guests. He proudly advertised the school’s theme for the 2025-26 academic year: Finding Joy, Fueling Joy. He conveyed his excitement for the students to “spark moments of joy,” primus ordo, in their activities on campus.

This was a record-scratch moment for me. I cocked an eyebrow as I looked over at my husband, telegraphing my disappointment in hearing the platitude.

“Here too?”

The dean delivered his message from a position of genuine care, of that I have no doubt, but it is a message that is nonetheless far from helpful to young people. No, while the school’s intention is to inspire a sustaining joy that will buoy and guide young people through a formative year of life, this superficial style of message will never get the young people there.

The idea that joy is a thing, just lying there waiting to be found, is a specious conceit. Joy is an outcome, not a destination. It comes of purpose, pursued diligently. The satisfaction, lightness, and energy of joy comes after days, months, maybe even years of active engagement that is sometimes enjoyable and also, unavoidably, sometimes tedious, difficult, or overwhelming. Sustaining joy comes from the discovery of earned self-worth, and a theme of “Finding Purpose, Fueling Dignity” would have a far greater success rate on guiding young people towards it.

It comes as no surprise, in the era of coddled minds and social media, that authentic joy is so hard to come by and “finding” it has become a mere happy talk slogan. But it need not stay that way. Joy is alive and well wherever you find a human being pursuing their purpose with both enthusiasm and patience. Over at brother-publication Doomberg, where we write about energy, another element foundational to a flourishing life, we often say that “in the battle between platitudes and physics, physics is undefeated.” And so it is with purpose in the battle for joy…platitudes don’t stand a chance.

I have three distinct purposes in creating Classics Read Aloud. The first is to breathe new life into the classics, especially underappreciated short stories, through curation. Many people have lost touch with reading for pleasure, and it can be daunting to sort through the vast reserves of published material to find the good stuff. The second is to raise the tenor of entertainment through storytelling. This is not an austere “eat your vegetables” approach—quite the opposite, for the sheer decadence of great literature is the nutrient. And the third is to continue demonstrating to my children, quickly becoming young adults themselves, that sometimes you can just do things—see an opportunity, strike out, and do it well.

Perhaps my readings encourage you to share a moment of stillness with your teenage son over Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River.” Perhaps the disappointment in James Joyce’s “Araby” helps soothe the sting of a loved one’s loneliness. Perhaps a road trip is enlivened with laughs over Mark Twain’s infamous frog of Calaveras County. Perhaps you fall asleep at night to the rhythm of Henry James’ patient prose. The opportunities grow with each new reading added.

It’s exciting to think about how this project might develop, and each day I push a little further…I let inspiration find me working. I’ve published more than 14 hours of audio and have recorded much, much more. I’ve read hundreds of pages of short stories and fables, and hundreds more in researching the authors and their circumstances to give context to each new piece published.

Child With Dove | Pablo Picasso, 1901

Of one thing I am certain: I am in love with the process of Classics Read Aloud—of selecting each story worth recording, of hunting for a work of art that will extend its aura into the visual realm, of tailoring the “et cetera” section with an album or a recipe or a cultural observation or a delicious morsel that ties it all together. Each posting feels like a composition.

Some days I am confident and others I am daunted. I abhor social media, so I fret about how I’ll grow this fledgling offering, until I remind myself that there are many ways to market, and that quality delivered with persistence begets engagement. With each new reading published, new connections are made. Excellence and perseverance are powerful fuel.

And one day, I might get a note from a young person who heard about Classics Read Aloud from an uncle or neighbor or grandparent or coach. He or she might tell me how they’ve discovered the rewards of a good story thanks to my readings, that now it is a book that occupies the in-between times instead of infinite scrolling.

On that day, I will feel profound joy.

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Upcoming Readings

• Just So Stories, A Selection, by Rudyard Kipling

• “The Kiss” by Anton Chekhov

• The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton

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Working, working, working…