As fully human beings I believe that we each have a ‘Call’? There are many definitions describing ‘Call’ – here is mine: Call = using my gifts, talents & abilities to respond to a need that exists in my/the world.
For more than fifty-two years I have had the privilege of working with a variety of folks. Many of them believed/experienced that they were responding to a ‘Call’ in their lives (given my definition of ‘Call’). If we stop, step-back and reflect a bit we might easily know when we are in the presence of a person who feels ‘called’ to his or her role (Parent, Educator, Health-Care Professional, Doorman, Receptionist, Flight Attendant, etc.). People who are ‘Called’ are different from people who believe they are here to ‘do a job,’ or ‘to work,’ or even to ‘have a career.’ People who have a ‘Call’ take on an identity – they ‘become’ their role. They ‘emotionally own’ their role. We seem to ‘know’ immediately if we are in the presence of a person who has responded to and embraced his or her ‘Call.’
What helps us remain ‘fired up’ about our ‘Call’? Consider ‘Passion.’ Again there are many definitions of ‘Passion’ – here is mine: Passion = what matters to me; the inner fire that does not consume but nurtures my life and my Call. When I consider my ‘Call’ I might ask: ‘Is the Passion I have for my ‘Call’ burning bright and hot?’ If it is not, ‘What do I do to rekindle my ‘Passion’ when it begins to ‘flicker’ or when it is being threatened with being ‘extinguished’? When the fire that is our ‘Passion’ is extinguished we fill with dense smoke and are smothered from within. Do I intentionally and purpose-fully renew my ‘Passion’ on a regular basis so it continues to burn bright and hot?
Our ‘Call’ and ‘Passion’ are also kept alive by our ‘Spirit.’ As with ‘Call’ and ‘Passion’ there are a number of definitions of ‘Spirit’ – here is mine: Spirit = our life-breath; that which animates my life and work. Our ‘Call’ and ‘Passion’ nurture and sustain our ‘Spirit’ and our ‘Spirit’ provides the ‘life-breath’ necessary to keep our ‘Call’ and ‘Passion’ alive. Paradoxically, our ‘Call’ and ‘Passion’ can also deplete our ‘Spirit’ – We can spend so much time living out our ‘Call’ or we can be so ‘fired up with our Passion’ that we actually deplete our spirit. Some, like George Bernard Shaw, want to be ‘thoroughly used up’ when they die. Some believe that a total self-sacrifice equates with the ‘demands’ of one’s ‘Call’. Some believe that we have an obligation to find a life-balance so that our ‘Spirit’ (our very life-breath) is not choked off because of our ‘Call’ and/or ‘Passion.’ I don’t know who is ‘right’ – I don’t even know if there is a ‘right’. I do believe that when it comes to our ‘Call,’ our ‘Passion,’ and our ‘Spirit’ that we each must decide and embrace being response-able and responsible.
Here are some guiding questions that I invite us to reflect upon:
- What is my Call?
- What am I ‘Passionate’ about? How do I keep the fire of my ‘Passion’ burning so that it nurtures and does not consume (me or others)?
- What are my favorite ways of nurturing and depleting my ‘Spirit’?
- What are the needs in my/the world that require my gifts, talents and abilities? What am I doing in order to respond to these needs? (By-the-By: these ‘Needs’ are ‘high priority needs’ – they are not just any needs, and they certainly are not simply ‘wants,’ ‘desires,’ or ‘wishes.’)
Searcher-Seeker 