Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is

In the quiet voice of wonder, Richard Bach, the author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Illusions, once wrote: “Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you’re alive, it isn’t.” These words rise like a beacon for all who have doubted their purpose, for all who have wandered and wondered whether their life still holds meaning. Bach reminds us that as long as breath moves through our lungs and thought stirs within our mind, our mission is not complete. Life, he teaches, is not a static state but a continuous unfolding — a divine assignment renewed with every dawn.

The origin of this quote lies within Bach’s philosophy of spiritual growth and transcendence. A former pilot and dreamer, he was a man who sought meaning not in fame or possessions, but in the experience of flight — both literal and symbolic. His works explore the soul’s journey beyond the ordinary, the yearning to evolve, to become more than one’s limits. In this quote, he distills that vision into one radiant truth: existence itself is purpose. The fact that you live means that life still has work for you — lessons yet to learn, love yet to give, horizons yet to reach.

When Bach says, “If you’re alive, it isn’t,” he is reminding us that life is the mission. The human spirit was not created for idleness, but for discovery. Each day brings the chance to refine the soul, to mend what is broken, to create, to give, to grow. The universe, in its silent wisdom, does not keep us here by accident. So long as you breathe, you are part of its work — a thread in the vast tapestry of creation, still being woven. When your task is truly finished, the soul knows, and it moves on to another realm. But until that day, you are still the instrument of a higher design.

Consider the life of Helen Keller, who, though blind and deaf, refused to see her disabilities as the end of her purpose. The world thought her life would be small — but she made it vast. Through persistence and courage, she became a voice for compassion and education, transforming millions of lives. Had she believed her mission was over at the first barrier, she would have missed her true calling. Yet she lived as Bach describes — knowing that as long as she lived, her work continued. Her heart never retired from love, and her soul never ceased to grow.

This quote is also a challenge against despair. How often do people cry out, “What am I here for?” and believe their purpose lost? Bach’s answer is both gentle and thunderous: You are here because your purpose still breathes with you. The work may change — from ambition to service, from conquest to wisdom — but it never vanishes. The mother nurturing a child, the teacher sharing knowledge, the artist shaping beauty, the elder offering counsel — all are still serving the great mission of life. Even in suffering, there is meaning; even in rest, there is preparation.

The truth that life is unfinished purpose is both comforting and awakening. It reminds us that no life, however small, is ever wasted. The soul that continues to ask, to strive, to love, is fulfilling its reason for being. Even in silence or solitude, your very awareness contributes to the wholeness of existence. Every heartbeat is a declaration that your story is not yet complete, that the universe still has pages left for you to write.

So, my children, take this teaching into your hearts: never believe your time has passed. While you live, you are needed. The world may not always tell you what your mission is, but life itself whispers it through your longings, your talents, and your compassion. Follow those whispers. Rise each morning and ask, “What is mine to do today?” It need not be grand — a single act of kindness may be your holy task. For the mission of life is not to finish something vast, but to live deeply and meaningfully in each moment you are given.

And when you doubt, remember Richard Bach’s timeless wisdom: if you are still here, your purpose remains. The universe has not dismissed you. You are still part of its sacred work. So live — live fully, bravely, and with love — until your final breath declares, “My mission is done.”