March 25, 2002
Choosing Not To Answer The Call?
“Every call involves an
element of risk for the simple reason that in answering the call we are almost
inevitably asked to give something up. Most
frequently, we are asked to give up conceptions we have clung to that are no
longer useful in our growth. You
can respond to your call if your soul is willing to take the risk.”
From
Soul
Prints: Your Path to Fulfillment, by Marc Gafni (1)
“Do you feel a calling?” asked my good friend George.
I hesitated for a moment before answering.
I do feel a calling, but did not want to appear arrogant as if I were
special or gifted. Remembering what
I had recently read by Marc Gafni and Caroline Myss that a call is there for all
of us, not just for those who are bigger than life, such as Abraham, Moses,
Gandhi, and countless others, I wondered why I hesitated.
Then I realized that aspects of my calling scared me.
Much like a fingerprint that is
unique to each person, Marc Gafni believes that your soul contains its own
unique spiritual signature that is the contour and content of your soul—it’s
character (2).
It is that uniqueness that causes us to affect others souls in a way
unlike any other soul. Within our soul print lays a destiny or calling that is also
unique to each of us. Gafni, a
Jewish scholar, uses Biblical and Kabbalah thoughts and texts to demonstrate
ways to discover your calling.
Sacred
Contracts: Awakening
Your Divine Potential, by Caroline Myss, approaches the same
topic from a different perspective, yet comes to the same conclusion.
As noted in a book review on Amazon’s site:
We all come into this world with ‘Sacred Contracts,’
according to best-selling author Caroline Myss. Some know it as a calling. Some
see it as a life mission. “In short, a Sacred Contract is an agreement your
soul makes before you are born,” Myss explains. “You promise to do certain
things for yourself, for others, and for divine purposes. Part of the Contract
requires that you discover what you are meant to do.”… Decoding our Sacred
Contract requires us to become fluent in the language of symbols and archetypes
so that we can interpret dreams, understand the meaning behind
‘coincidences,’ and learn to follow our intuition.
Recently I have had several
conversations with friends about the notion of partially following your destiny,
or not even answering a call. It
seems that I am not alone in my thoughts. Many
friends commented on how they had given their life to God…but with strings
attached. Others have lamented on
knowing what they should be doing but for many reasons, are not following that
inner voice.
I am beginning to think the soul
print or sacred contract contains several callings and those could be
multi-dimensional. The fundamental
call I believe we all have as a common thread is the calling to love and to be
with yourself in love. Even though
it is not a unique calling, love’s manifestation through us is different, as
no two people will ever live identical lives.
Thus this call to love (acceptance, compassion, non-judgment, etc.),
which is fundamental to all of us, becomes a unique destiny to each person.
Many people work hard to
discover what their calling is, but how many find it only to be challenged in
answering that call? In Eastern
spirituality where the reincarnation of the soul is accepted, a person who does
not answer the call that reveals certain life lessons is then destined to repeat
that call in the next lifetime. Others
find comfort in knowing that they are loved unconditionally regardless of their
answering the call beyond that of love.
So I sit and ponder the opening
quote as I inch closer to accepting and answering the call I am currently faced
with after what seems like a lifetime of ignoring it. My soul is cheering me on, but…
With respect, acceptance, and love,
Richard
©
Richard D. Olson and Awaken The Soul, 2002; Edited by Janice E. Olson
(1)
Soul Prints: Your Path to Fulfillment
by Marc Gafni; Copyright 2001;
(2)
Sacred Contracts: Awakening You Divine Potential
by Caroline Myss; Copyright 2001;