Walking the Talk

Loving the World

“My work is loving the world. 

Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird---

          equal seekers of sweetness.

Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.

Here the clam deep in the speckled sand…”

                              Mary Oliver

                              From: Messenger

          Ever wonder what is your true work?  I do not mean how you make your living, though for some of us, our vocation and our work are the same.  What I mean is what is your soul’s work here on this earth at this time?  Surely Mary Oliver is clear about her work, which she defines later in this poem as “mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.”  Bringing the rapture of nature’s precious bounty to our attention and “telling them over and over, how it is that we live forever,” is something she does better than anyone I know.

          Some of us find our true work when an event happens in our lives that needs healing.  We find ways to heal ourselves and vicariously, others.  Think of Michael J. Foxx and his contribution to Parkinson’s research, and Elizabeth Edward’s work to bring awareness to breast cancer.  Many charities have been launched by people who answered great loss with heroic action.  But not everyone is called to the national stage.  On the evening news last night there was a story of two women who were organizing meals and household necessities for the folks in North Carolina who had lost their homes and twenty-two of their loved ones in the tornados that blazed a trail through their town.  I’m quite certain those two women were neither being paid to feed the hungry, nor launching a national crusade, and equally sure that they were called to do that work.  

          The importance of knowing what your calling is, and doing it in faith, cannot be overstated.  The way to find it is to listen to your heart and don’t discount what it tells you.  Though it may seem small, it is critically significant for your own soul’s sake and for the sake of the world.  We may never know the reason why; our job is simply to do what we are called to do and leave the rest to God.

                                                  Keeping the faith,

                                                  Jane