Love who you are and do what you love

“When we find our vocation we begin to live from this place inside us, deepening our personality, our unique way of being in God, and therefore incarnating our unity” wrote Rory McEntee and Adam Buck in their book The New Monasticism: An Interspiritual Manifesto for Contemplative Living.

Pondering this thought generates excitement within me. As a spiritual director, people often ask how they can live a balanced, more integrated life in the midst of busy and often demanding schedules.  One little word sums up my response: vocation! In other words, live who you are from your heart. If you have a gift for teaching – teach, for parenting – parent, for designing – design, for creativity – create, and so forth.  Love who you are and do what you love!

In our younger years we are so busy being what others want us to be.  Parents impose upon us unfulfilled hopes and dreams.  Employers demand 60 – 80 hours a week to meet our work commitment to the corporation.  And so we tend to live from the outside to achieve, please, and accommodate others in order to ‘make it’ in this world.

As we mature, we discover there is a ‘still small voice’ within that has a wisdom and attentiveness from which we can give our time and attention.  That is our vocation!    Deep within is the call to be true to our essential self – the Mystery of God indwelling us.  Experience of this ‘place’ propels us to engage life differently.  It is not ego driven but empowered by the Spirit, the Holy One who will touch the world through us in healing ways.  This does not imply that life is easy, but rather that it is meaningful, it is compassionate, and it is generous.

McEntee and Buck offer the world a new invitation and a promise:  if you find your true self (your vocation) you will begin to live from this place within you.  Oh that we may each discover this and open to the possibility of living this out daily in our world.

What hope!  What joy!  What a different world this would be!