January 28, 2002
Heeding A Call
“What
if we all followed our natural desire to share our love and creativity?
Can you imagine the loving and the gifted teaching, writing, singing,
selling groceries, and carburetors, and leading nations and economic
explorations? Can you imagine
impassioned, grateful souls at corporate headquarters, in the courtroom and the
newsroom, in the wheat field and the bean field, even in the operating room?
If we each stood in our right places with invincible hearts and visionary
minds, would we not stand in a different world?
Of course we would. And our
feet wouldn’t even touch the ground.”
Tama J. Kieves (1)
My
wife, Jan, is part of a women’s group that has come together from various
backgrounds to enjoy fellowship and share the experience of life.
Often times they will read and discuss a book or, as is the case now,
share in a writing experience as they explore family.
Next month they will be attending a women’s spirituality workshop
together led by a former Harvard Lawyer who practiced in a prestigious firm,
only to give it up one day to follow her calling: writing.
Tama Kieves is full of life and willing to share her
innermost dreams and fears. Several
years ago she left a promising career in law to begin to write and speak.
This past weekend Jan and I attended a book signing and reading of her
new book, This Time I Dance! Trusting the Journey of Creating the Work You
Love.
Like Tama, I have made a conscious choice on which
direction my life will take. Unlike
her, I do not have much to show for those efforts… at least not tangible.
As I watched her interaction with the audience and heard her reading from
the book, I easily visualized a time when I would be addressing a similar
audience. But as much as I believe
in creative visualization, I also understand that action is the difference
between that visualization becoming reality or staying only a dream.
There are many ways that we come to hearing and then
understanding our calling. For
many, it is not deciding to change career paths, as was Tama’s case.
Opportunities can come from the loss of a job, as was my case, or a slow
methodical process including going back to school.
In fact, finding our creativity and love for life including our vocation
sometimes happens even when we do not change job positions.
It might be through an activity outside the workplace, but recognizing
and then making the connection that our job is the vehicle for us to engage in
that activity. Through that
recognition, we have the ability to turn the mundane into magic.
Tama is quick to point out that leaving your current
job is not for those who do not have a clear calling or understanding of what
could lie ahead. It also does not
mean that if you follow your soul and create work that you love, that every day
will begin and end with a smile on your face and filled only with opportunities.
I can attest to the fact that many days are far from the bliss that I
felt early in the process of following my calling.
Regardless of your situation, you can create either a
new path or recreate the one you are currently on. Everyone has a unique set of circumstances that will
determine to what extent you can, or even want to, change.
But even if you are a person who feels trapped, you can allow your soul
to guide you in recreating existing work and thus all that you experience.
With respect, acceptance, and love,
Richard
©
Richard D. Olson and Awaken The Soul, 2002; Edited by Janice E. Olson
(1) This Time I Dance! Trusting the Journey of Creating the Work You Love by Tama J. Kieves; Copyright 2002; Awakening Artistry Press, Denver, CO; For more information, see Suggested Reading page: http://awakenthesoul.com/readings.htm or Links: http://awakenthesoul.com/links.htm.