The longer I live, the more I appreciate:
Right now, these simple and free gifts are giving me Continue reading “Finding The Inspiration to Continue”
Why is this the question we ask when we are tasked with doing the life-changing, groundbreaking, paradigm-shifting work we are called to do? Is it because we know that this work has such power that it can be radically transformative? Is it that we doubt in our ability to do it?
Why don’t we ask instead, Continue reading “What If I Fail?”
Throughout the month of November, I will share with you some close and undeniable truths that I believe will set us free for real. These posts will vary in length and will end with a question for your personal contemplation. Ultimately, the sum of this time will help you better answer the question of “How Free Exactly Do You Want to Be?” for yourself, and find steps you can take to help you get there.
I am allowing myself to be led and used by the Spirit, so Continue reading “How Free Exactly Do You Want to Be?”
What were you born to do? Is there even such a thing as being born to do something? How can you know for certain? At what point along the journey do you receive confirmations about your gifts, purpose, or calling? How can we have clarity about the answers to these questions?
These questions confound most of us at some point in our lives; yet, I’m convinced that no two answers are exactly the same. This is because no two people ever see the world exactly the same way.
Ever asked “why”, “why me, or “why now”? Of course you have, as has anyone who is truly living. We go through things in life that leave us dumbfounded, speechless, at a loss. We find ourselves having more questions than answers. No amount of schooling or living seems to have prepared us for the moment that seems so ambiguous, so vague, so meaningless, so incongruous with what we’ve witnessed, experienced, or ever anticipated thus far. We struggle to find answers and make sense of the moment, thinking that perhaps after a good night of sleep, it will all be clear. Joy comes in the morning, right? Well yes, but that’s just part of it.
I’m not here to convince you that everything will make sense, or that somehow the lightbulb will instantly light up amidst your tragedy, loss, suffering, or other life event not necessarily defined by loss, but perhaps by rejection of some sort. However, I do believe wholeheartedly that, in the final analysis, it all serves a purpose, whether by design or default. The stars do line up, and the epiphanies and discoveries do follow…in time. Eventually.
The purpose seems to be that of self-actualization. Ultimately, amidst our grieving and coping, our tearful cries and quiet whispers, our rage and tranquility, and our futility and fortitude, we find a stronger voice. We learn something about ourselves, that until now was undefinable, undiscovered, and certainly underdeveloped. We discover gifts within us, tap into amazing coping abilities, learn humility – how can we not be humbled by the order and timing of things – assume unparalleled strength, and dispel myths that we once believed to be true.
Just when we think that we can take no more, we find ourselves morphing from fragile to uncompromising. We transcend beyond our situation and become faces of hope, as we share our stories of triumph. We conquer our situations as we are forced to go within. We transcend our circumstances by finding consolation and comfort in the knowledge that many have come before us that have endured far worse, and managed to make it through. We find our resilience as the carpets of comfort are pulled from beneath us. As we reach out and across, we learn that we don’t have to go it alone, and we learn to finally understand the meaning of community, and its necessity. In the process, we redefine our networks. Lines of friendship and family become blurred in the process, but we find amazing clarity in the truth that we must connect…with each other, and are not designed to suffer in silence, or rely on our own wit to get us through the situation.
In the end, we learn to love more authentically. Our need to open up trumps our desire to retreat into our shells during our most difficult moments. Our dissatisfaction, disappointment, displeasure, disengagement, disenchantment with half-fulfilled hopes, and dislocated hurt, anger, and pain brings us to our knees, while we are forced to acknowledge that we are in need of a personal touch, an affirming voice, and an encouraging heart. This is when we know we are growing, becoming our truer selves. We are actualizing, becoming connected. Yes!
As we become unglued from our own seats of seeming security, from the places which we sometimes occupied for too long in our roles…as parent, wife, husband, or lover, son or daughter, and even employee, we find freedom in the expression of our most sincere feelings, joy in the liberation from not having to do it all, and light in the exposure of all that once remained suppressed. We emerge victoriously and assuredly, albeit through some very painful processes and lessons. This is especially true if we live with the acknowledgment that life is trying to teach us something. In turn, we become whole, grounded, humble, resilient, uncompromising (where it counts), resourceful, and confident. We become ourselves, as we were designed to be!
Life As An Art Form 