What is calling to you, what is yours to do in the world, is calling to you clearly.
Clearly!
What is calling to you to do is not one inch to the left or right, it’s not over there behind the potato chips – it’s exactly in front of you.
Yes, that flash, that gut pow, that “oh my god” you felt before you started to second guess… before a “better” idea called to you…. before you found yourself checking Twitter or organizing your FoxFire bookmarks –
that is IT.
What is calling to you is that which is so alive, so urgent, so blissful, you must shield your eyes from it.
It is that which you may think you do not deserve and certainly are not capable of giving birth to.
God is calling to you through THAT idea, that joy, that urgency.
Do whatever you want with the God word.
It’s so very tempting to get distracted, to hold yourself back, to apply the brakes and believe the thoughts that say, “It’s really complicated.You don’t understand. There are things to do first.”
Oh yes, darling, I do so understand those ever heavier temptations.
Think of Jesus in the desert, I’ll bet you the Devil said stuff like,
Look, the savior thing, cool, great idea, but you’re not quite ready yet. Another course, another year, another degree, then sure. Why not start a sandal company in the meantime?”
Do not start a sandal company.
And no, I’m not suggesting you need to be a savior of anything.
Jesus had a calling.
You have a calling.
And we all get tempted away from our callings.
Sometimes for days, sometimes for months, sometimes for our entire lives.
So here’s an idea, just for today:
Do not listen to your ego/lizard brain/ghost of your father who interrupts you with anything from a “better” idea to a mean voice to the importance of learning all about geckos. (I know, your son/daughter/neighbor just got one and it will die if you don’t research ideal gecko care right now and it’s all on your shoulders… really, I’ve heard this one before.)
Instead, breath, right here, right now.
Yes, now, not later.
A real soft belly breath.
In and out of your precious right here right now belly.
It’s okay to want what you want.
It’s how the Divine speaks to you – not through wanting the buttery leather boots or the second bowl of chocolate chip mint ice cream, but through wanting the “holy shit you can’t mean me” longings, ideas, and projects.
Breath and pick up your sword and cut through everything else that does not give voice and action to that longing.
Just for today, do not start a sandal company.
23 responses so far ↓
1 Rupa Nov 18, 2010
I really appreciate your boldness. Your post spoke to me. Thank you.
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3 Sandy Dempsey Nov 18, 2010
Wonderful post.
This line really got me…”It’s okay to want what you want.”
I immediately saw what I wanted, the same thing I’ve been telling myself is too big.
I think I’m going to out this on a small laminated card and carry it with me.
Thank you, Jen!
Peace and blessings,
Sandy
4 Tracy Nov 18, 2010
Interesting how the universe works… in the last 24 hours I’ve had a series of ‘aha, yes, I HEAR YOU, universe!’ moments, where I know that ‘coincidence’ is really more than happenstance. I’ve been dragging my feet on getting out there (a.k.a. putting myself out there) and finding a good satisfying job. I’ve been home and working with my husband for the last 7 years, so the prospect of it all has been daunting, to say the least.
Will someone want me to work with/for them?
Will my skills be relevant?
Will I be relevant?
Answers to all those questions have been answered with pretty clear signs that I’m on the right path, and even if I don’t get the job that looks perfect to me right now, it gets me out there!
And then there you are with your post, Jen. {its been a long time since I’ve posted on your blog} Like another clear sign that YES, I need to focus. I need to clear out the distractions. I need to get my ass in gear and get over myself.
Its funny once you feel like you are on the right path, how something that once felt so scary can now feel SO exciting! {And RIGHT!}
thank U
xo
5 Julie Nov 18, 2010
Gutsy. Real. with a garnish of holy humor. Looks good with the purple shoes, for sure. Now, I gotta find my own purple shoes.
6 Nicola Nov 19, 2010
Oh yes, I know that calling! I finally listened this year and my life has been transformed. In ways I hoped it would be and in ways I could never have imagined. I believe, too, that we are in the midst of a cosmic shift and more and more people will be experiencing their calling. The question is, will they take up the sword and follow their calling? I hope so because this is what the world needs.
7 Marianne Nov 19, 2010
This is coming to me from every direction lately, and – most importantly – from the quiet but assured voice within me. It is okay to want what I want. Yes, it really is.
Thank you. x
8 Lorian Gray Nov 19, 2010
What The World Needs Now, Is Love, Sweet Love. No, Not Just For Some But For Everyone…
9 Ronna Nov 19, 2010
Potent. On-point. Perfect.
Thanks, Jen.
10 Heather Plett Nov 19, 2010
Love, love, LOVE this! It’s why I started Sophia Leadership. That darn Sophia just wouldn’t LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!
11 Liz Nov 19, 2010
How did you know I was just about to research geckos??
I’ve been dodging the ‘holy shit- really?” things for a while now. And it’s exhausting.
If only answering the call weren’t quite so terrifying!
12 Shannon Nov 19, 2010
Amen! I needed a reminder today. Great kick in the a$$ right before the wekeend. TY!
13 Ty Barbary Nov 19, 2010
These two lines in particular stood out to me:
Breath and pick up your sword and cut through everything else that does not give voice and action to that longing.
Just for today, do not start a sandal company.
Mostly the first because of its clarity and strength, and the second because it made me laugh outloud.
Thank you for this post – it’s a great one.
14 Kelly Salasin Nov 19, 2010
Here’s a quote (that actually terrifies me), but it echoes the sentiment above…
“There is always the temptation in life to diddle around making itsy-bitsy friends & meals & journeys for years on end. . But I won’t have it. The world is wilder than that in all directions, more dangerous . .more extravagant & bright. We are . . raising tomatoes when we should be raising Cain, or Lazarus.”
— Annie Dillard
15 Ingrid Nov 19, 2010
Just beautiful Jen. You are an angel, a cheerleader, and one of the ways God is speaking to us all. (you can do what you want with the God word…)
Joy to you, Ingrid
16 wilson usman Nov 19, 2010
Awww, yummy post!
Your words just seem to flow naturally, you probably didn’t even edit this post at least it seems like, which is amazing!
Anyway for the first time being on this blog you sold me, I’m not going to start that damn sandal company, instead I’ll go with….naaaaaa never mind.
17 J.D. Meier Nov 22, 2010
My calling slaps me upside the head and gets me going each day.
18 Susan Gallacher-Turner Nov 23, 2010
“It’s ok to want what you want”
Thanks, I needed to that…
As far as answering the call…I’d love to but lately all I hear is silence. It’s nice. I need silence, believe me.
Your powerful post makes me feel it’s possible for me, too.
19 Kate Nov 24, 2010
What if what you want doesn’t save the world even a tiny bit? Is that ok? Is it still the thing?
What if what you want doesn’t make any money, it just takes money? Is it ok to start a sandal company then, in the hopes of getting some money to do the thing you really want?
What if there are lots of things you want?
20 Nona Dec 15, 2010
Dearest Jen, This is Exactly what I need in this moment Now. (Not back in November when you wrote it.)
I have been desperate to see my Calling. I still don’t understand what it is. But to know it’s right in front of me is such a blessing!
Thank you and thank you!
I am breathing, now, knowing my Calling is exactly in front of me.
And I bless Orly for posting this link on FB today, in my moment of need.
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