Act 1: Journey of Discovery
Chapter 1: Calling
Every person has a calling. Some use the term “vocation” or “birthright.” However you want to describe it, your calling beckons you to your destiny. It is your choice on whether you want to respond to it or not.
The concept of a calling is often misunderstood. A calling is not something you can bottle up and peddle on the corner like lemonade. A calling emanates from the essence and impulses of Life. It is your station in Life. It is Life.
Here is what a calling is not.
A calling is not a job or a career. A job is burden you endure to sustain yourself. A career is a path you develop that can be sidetracked and stalled. But a calling is just what you do in Life regardless of how you pay the bills or where you find yourself in terms of career goals.
A calling is also different from the popular concept of self-fulfillment. We are obsessed in our culture with self-fulfillment which can be ultimately self-serving. Yes you will experience a sense of fulfillment, but your calling is not just about you. To discover your calling, you must tap into the part of your heart that desires to make a difference. Making a difference beyond ourselves is what gives us significance. Whether it is with a child, a classroom, employees, or an entire nation, everybody wants to make a difference–some just may not know it yet.
People can share the same callings. Some are called to help others embrace their designs and destinies no matter the cost. Others are called to serve and sacrifice to see a collective vision come to fruition. Other callings include networking people together to accomplish great things; attaining knowledge and teaching the world with wisdom; creating and leading empires against great adversity; generating and generously sharing resources with others. And one of the highest callings is to demonstrate merciful compassion to a world that has become calloused and cruel.
You do not discover your calling over night. It requires a journey–one that begins anew everyday– one filled with pitfalls and peril. Do not be deterred. To discover your calling, all you need is the courage to take the first step and the faith that believes by the end of your journey, you will discover the true Life your heart has been yearning for.
Blessing: May you have the courage to respond to your calling and embark on your journey of discovery. May your journey be new every day. Life awaits you!
Response: I receive the courage to respond to my calling and embark on a new journey of discovery today.
May 19th, 2010 at 5:54 am
Thanks for posting this Ed! I really like the overall concept and the material. The one thought that I had in reading through this,is that the “voice” of this excerpt is very much written from a UCD perspective, and that it might be useful to tap into the IEA within you and convey that “voice” within your writing in order that this book may be a source of both inspiration and empowerment for others. Given that I share the same two blessings as you, I have personally struggled with this in my own writing and have found that my writing has been much better received from the IEA voice within me:-). Hope this helps. Overall an awesome concept!
May 19th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Appreciate your feedback Cat. Yes I am feeling very UCD (Unyielding Conviction & Design) when writing this. I think it is based upon my studies and meditations these days because everything I am focusing on is about the cost of one’s calling.
I will try and sprinkle some IEA in but it just might not be what this was meant for. We’ll see. More to come so let me know what you think!
May 19th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
I like the quasi-miltant feel that this has of being quite black and white. Not sure I entirely agree with it of course. This is what I get from having a couple of other blessings be my top pair.
I would like to see more of what a calling is as simply trying to negate what a calling is not, doesn’t always work well. Just to give a rather extreme example, would “Eating” or “Breathing” being considered callings? I doubt it, yet these are things we do almost every day, quite regularly as we live our lives. Thus, I’m wondering more about the connection to passion and how can one know that what one just did was part of that calling. Is there a sense of, “Wow, I did that!” which follows or can living out the calling come without any emotional reaction?
If it isn’t obvious, I’m still working on discovering my calling, but I am taking some steps towards it.
May 19th, 2010 at 8:42 pm
Ed,
Seems like this would stimulate some good discussion.
I’m not sure “station in life” evokes the concept you are shooting for. I think the popular usage of said phrase means more along the lines of a janitor that will always be a janitor – even if he is a super genius. “Ah, that’s just my station (lot) in life….” “We know he’s a genius, but that’s his station in life.”
I could be off (as I often am…)
sb
May 19th, 2010 at 8:48 pm
Good point on “station.” What word would you use? Thanks for the encouragement.
May 19th, 2010 at 8:43 pm
BTW. You and @cat sure use some fancy acronyms.
May 19th, 2010 at 8:49 pm