Tag: life purpose

Where the Wild Things Grow

On By Just StephIn Authentic Living Series, Metaphysical MussingsLeave a comment

I always feel so guilty when I thin out seedlings.  I even find myself apologizing; “I’m sorry sweetie, I know you were trying your best, if I had space each and every one of you would get the chance to grow to your full potential.”

In a way I find myself akin to the ones that don’t make the cut.  In almost every area of my life that has always been the case.   I may be well read and have a lot of knowledge in a wide variety of areas; a lot of skills in a wide variety of specialties, but someone else is always better.  Someone else always gets the lead role, the award, the solo, the contract, the promotion.  In the end I always get weeded out.

I don’t hold it against them, the ones who win. They worked hard for it.  In most cases, they have dedicated their lives to this one thing be it academics, music, drama, a career, or whatever else it is that they succeed at.  They deserve it, and I will be the first one to congratulate them on a job well done. 

It does sting though, to admit that I will never be quite good enough to be best; that somehow I always end up in the supporting role, in the chorus, as part of the team support, or as the wind beneath their wings, the one the successful ones mention when they thank all of those that got them there and made this possible.

It is the dabbling that it is my downfall you see.  So many successful people know what they want to do with their lives from the time that they are kids.  For most it has been their lifelong focus.  They start gymnastics or ballet at the age of three and go on to win tournaments and perhaps go on to the Olympics or make a career out of being a ballerina or teaching others to dance or tumble.

Perhaps they have been playing the violin since the age of six and their dream is to play in a professional orchestra or come up with the next immortal symphony.  Perhaps they have been drawing since they were born and so it should come as no surprise when they open their own art gallery or become a famous illustrator or find their niche in teaching or painting. 

Some people find mathematics or science or religion and throw themselves into their vocation with a diligence that always amazes me.  Seriously, to spend a career studying one type of molecule or a specific type of invertebrate?  I am astounded by their dedication to their chosen topic.  Even more astounded at their insights and the advances that they contribute to humanity’s body of knowledge. 

These successful individuals work harder than I do, I will admit that.  They dedicate their lives to one thing; throwing themselves into their chosen vocation with a focus that is simultaneously admirable and terrifying, so it is no wonder to me that they succeed.

Part of me wishes that I could have that sort of focus, but another part of me shudders in horror at the thought of being locked into any one thing for my entire life.

And so, I will settle for being a weeded-out seedling.  After all, it’s not like they get tossed out in the trash.  They get tossed into the woods; discarded in favor of the bigger, stronger and more beautiful. 

But discarded seedlings still have the opportunity to bloom and grow and become what they were meant to be, even if it is out of sight in the woods where the wild things are.

Uninhibited by containers or boundaries, this seedling’s roots will grow deep and wide.  Her blossoms and fruit will be found in the most unexpected places and at the least expected times.

And so, I will perform for the ground hogs and the rabbits.  I will write stories for the crows and for the hawks.  I will sing for the deer and paint my pictures for the Fisher Cats.  My performance reviews will be written by moonlight and documented in the leaves of the trees and my riches will be in the golden spill of morning sunlight, the silver sparkles on the river, and in the knowledge of a life not contained by anyone or anything, but where every moment has been lived to the fullest.

Waiting to Live

On By Just StephIn Authentic Living SeriesLeave a comment

It seems as if I have spent my life waiting…

Waiting for those rushes of energy and emotion, of unadulterated experience that the universe always seemed to throw at me with such reckless abandonment; rushes so intense that I can’t think of anything but what is happening and everything else takes a backseat – almost as if I’m suffering from some sort of cosmic bi-polar disorder.

Athletes talk about being in the zone; about how everything else falls away as they slip into that moment where the only thing that matters is what they are doing here and now.  Musicians and artists too speak of this absorption.  I’ve experienced this myself with my writing.  The words just pour out of me as if someone turned on a tap and later, when I look at what I wrote I am in amazement.  I wrote that? Where did that come from?

I’m sure you’ve experienced those moments too…moments when everything seems to happen at once, and yet it is as if everything around you takes on a crystallized clarity as you focus on what needs to be done and thrill to the feel of the adrenaline coursing through your veins, to the power of the emotions and sensations stirred up in your blood. You have a purpose – you have meaning!  This is LIFE that is happening to you and you want to be fully there in every single second.

And then, when the moment is over, everything seems to STOP (or at least appears to stop in comparison to what you’ve just experienced) and you could swear that every movement you make is like trying to walk through molasses; so mundane and dull does it seem next to the heady rush you just experienced and you could cry at your loss, for after having experienced something so intense, how can you ever go back to living normally? How can you possibly work on the laundry after having just seen the view from the mountaintop?

But you do.  You come back to earth (so to speak) with a vengeance.  Indeed, after a while the intensity of the moment becomes nothing more than a vague memory; an anomaly that you remember with a certain nostalgia – until the next time it happens and once more you are thrown into the whirl of intensity that seems to affect every cell in your body.

And then there comes the day when you wake up and realize that it doesn’t have to stop.

No, this does not mean that you get to live in that cosmic high – in a never-ending rush of adrenaline and focused purposefulness (oh wouldn’t the corporate motivators love to get a hold of THAT sort of motivation for their employees!)

No.  What happens is that there comes a day when you realize that those moments of unadulterated experience are not just some random occurrence.  They are a choice.  They are what happens to you when you choose to bring your physical life into alignment with your soul purpose.  Those are your authentic moments – and they can last you for a lifetime.

You can wake up every day laughing in awe at the realization that each and every moment that you are experiencing contains that spark of awe; that crystalline clarity and sense of rightness.  When you realize this you will find yourself approaching each and every moment (even those that should, by all rights, be the most dull and mundane) with a sort of profound amazement at the potential that it contains; at the promise that it holds.

And it is then that the knowing will overwhelm you.

You are no longer waiting to live.

You are living.

Soul Alignment

On By Just StephIn Authentic Living Series1 Comment

Do you ever get the feeling that there is something not quite right about your life; that you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing; that your everyday reality is out of synch with your soul purpose?

Just like when your car needs an alignment, you can feel when your everyday life and your soul purpose are out of synch with each other.   The vehicle (in this case your life) does not steer as smoothly as it should.  You can have the noblest dreams; the best laid plans; but something always seems to happen, but something always seems to happen that mucks things up.  Every time you try to get to a certain location something wrenches you in another direction; events conspire to bog you down; circumstances align to trip you up; people fail you, and hopes and plans and dreams get dashed to pieces and you feel like throwing your hands into the air and giving up and screaming “What’s the point?”

What Does it Mean?

If you find yourself contending with these sorts of scenarios regularly, it is not an indication that you are a bad person or that you have been singled out by the universe for punishment or torture.  It is not even a sign that you are being manipulated by outside sources such as angles or demons or closet Marxists.  It is, however, a sure sign that your life is out of alignment with your soul purpose and that you are in need of a serious synchronization.

Sounds big doesn’t it?  Sounds like something that you might need an exorcism for – or at least the advice of a Shaman, or spiritual counselor.  But believe it or not, it is actually a very simple process and one that each and every one of us is capable of undertaking.  In fact, you can probably get to work on it as soon as you finish reading this.

Unlike getting your car aligned, bringing your life and your soul purpose into alignment does not require a trip into the garage.  It does not even require a weekend meditation retreat or year spent in Nepal or Tibet.  But for all that it is a relatively straight forward and simple process, there are relatively few people on the planet whose lives are in full alignment with their soul purpose and when they are it is unmistakable.

For these people, everything just seems to fall into place.  Everything works. Events and circumstances come about which always seem to be exactly those things that are supposed to happen and which happen at exactly the right moment in time.  Their lives look like a dream to the rest of us.  They may not be rich and famous, but they are happy; they are at peace; they have passion and purpose and are living their lives with joy and verve.  Their energy and enthusiasm draws people in and makes you feel as if the world is a better place for them having been there.

So how can you become one of these people?  How can you go from a life where everything seems to be at odds to one where everything seems to fit?  The answer, of course, is to bring your life into alignment with your soul purpose.
But first, of course, it helps to understand just what your soul purpose is.

A person’s soul purpose is the reason that they have been put on this planet; the purpose for which they have agreed to be here, in this body, and in this particular lifetime.  It is something that only they are capable of doing, for only their exact circumstances and upbringing have prepared them for this particular job.

So, how do you find out what your soul purpose is?  The first order of business is to take a look at your natural gifts and abilities for they will be a clear indicator of what direction you should be headed in.   I’m not talking about things that you have been trained to do and that are by necessity a part of your job.  Take a look at your natural abilities; those talents that you were born with and that are as easy for you as breathing.

Types of Natural Gifts and Abilities

These gifts can take on a variety of different types.  For instance, some people are natural healers.  They have a knack for always knowing just the right things to do or say that will make people feel better either physically or emotionally.

Then there are those who are natural teachers.  A natural teacher has the ability to take a complex topic and break it down in such a way that someone else can understand it easily; they may do this in a number of ways (talking, writing, storytelling) but the effect is the same; people learn easily from them.

Some, however, are naturally knowledgeable.  I’m not talking about know-it-alls (who simply think they know everything).  Truly knowledgeable individuals simply have the answers.  You ask them a question and they have an answer, as if they have a direct conduit to some vast knowledge source.

There are also those who are natural creators; their artistic and creative abilities are insatiable and they are always coming up with new ideas for things whether they are paintings, recipes, craft ideas, sculptures, machines or stories.

Or you may be a planner; someone who is great at coming up with a way to get things done, who knows how to organize people and resources in the best way to actually get things accomplished.  Or maybe you are a doer; a person who likes to implement the plans that others come up with and are great at working with your hands.

The Problem and the Solution

The problem is that thanks to a society and culture that put an emphasis on those things that bring the most material satisfaction we have a serious disconnect between what we are supposed to be doing (and what society and those around us expect us to do) and those things that we came here to accomplish.   In fact, this disconnect is so extreme that sometimes it seems impossible that it can ever be brought into alignment and that we will be stuck in this no-man’s-land forever.

But this is not the case, there really is a solution to the problem; something that can cut through all of the expectations that are piled up on us every day; those things that keep us from pursuing our true callings; from finding and living our true purpose.

The way to bring our lives into alignment with our soul purpose is to get in touch with that inner voice and that lives inside of each of us; the one that gives us that gut instinct to do things a certain way.  Unfortunately this is usually the instinct and voice we ignore because so many times it goes contrary to what logic and reason (or even societal expectations) would have you believe is the right thing to do.

By listening to this voice; by following its advice, you can start bringing your life into alignment with your soul purpose; making decisions that will allow you to live an authentic life; one that is lived from the heart.