Thursday, December 14, 2017

Life's Work

Soul's Assignment

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style.”
Maya Angelou

It's interesting how one's mission in life changes over time and with the stacking up of decades. As a young person, I wanted to change the world by doing things that benefited people with disabilities. I thought I could do that single handed. As is true for many young people, I did not know the world's ways, and had lots of grandiose notions. Thank God for that, because some young people do end up changing the world. If they doubted themselves, it simply wouldn't happen.

If asked the question, “What is your mission in life?” how would you answer? One way to recognize it is to ask yourself, “what do I really love to do—what am I especially good at.” It may have nothing to do with the way you make a living—life's work is heart work; it has more to do with love than money. We all have a mission, whether we recognize it or not. Some of us believe our life's work is determined—and agreed to—before our soul becomes a human being. Think about it—we have billions of cells, and all of those cells have intelligence embedded in the genetic material. Some genes turn on, and some do not. What determines that? Two identical twins—two individuals who began life as one single cell—who have the same parents, the same developmental environment, often grow up to be two distinctly different people with different passions, personalities, capacities and life trajectories. Does our life's purpose determine which genes are activated?

As for me, I'm still trying to change the world—thankfully, I have recognized that I can't do it alone, and it won't happen fast. Somebody stuck a pin in that particular delusion. Realizing that your life's work will not result in change in your lifetime does not mean you can stop, however. I could, I suppose, go float on a raft in the Caribbean, and sip mint-juleps all day—actually that sounds pretty good—but it would mean that I get another go-round here on the blue planet. Because, you see, the work belongs to the soul—it is the soul's assignment, and the soul is eternal. Ah, well, just keep plugging away.

                                                       In the Spirit,
                                                           Jane



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