Listening To Your Life
A Calling That I Hear
Your most important life skill is to “listen to your heart.” It all begins here. It’s not about how much money you make, your career choice, or even your future partner. All of that is important. But these matters come later. The first thing is to listen to your heart. And this is always the essential matter.
We tend to do the very opposite. We begin with questions like, “What do I want my job to be? How much money do I want to make (and I want to make a lot!)? Where do I want to live? Who do I want to spend my life with? All fine questions. But the first and essential inquiry is “What is my calling? What is my true vocation?” Unfortunately, the universities and institutions of the land do not help us explore this pivotal point. As a result, people hop from one position to another, move from place to place, exchange partners with alacrity—all in the hope of finding clarity. But the key issue is never addressed—What is my heart whispering, saying”?
Parker Palmer speaks to this challenge in his excellent work “Let Your Life Speak,”
Vocation does not come from willfulness. It comes from listening. I must listen to my life and try to understand what it is truly about—quite apart from what I would like it to be about—or my life will never represent anything real in the world, no matter how earnest my intentions.
Vocation does not mean a goal that I pursue. It means a calling that I hear. Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am. (Parker Palmer)
The last sentence is worth doubling down on: “I must listen to my life telling me who I am.” Once we understand the nature of our fundamental calling then the contours of our lives become clearer. Then we can push ahead with vigour. Then we can live with a measure of self-discipline because we know the path (amongst all of the paths) to follow.
Then the requisite demands of putting in 10,000 hours to achieve our goals will not feel like a burden. Rather, we will simply be singing the melody and working out the harmonies of our chosen life song.
I smiled to myself Pastor Alan. Before I read " Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am.'"; my thoughts exactly. Identity in Christ and purpose. Just like God question to Adam, who told you were naked. The heart hold the key of our understanding.... blessings Pastor Alan
So important. Another question to ask of self: “what is in my hand?”