Our vocation is the work we do, I believe, because we must. Sometimes we are paid for this work. Other times, this is the work we do at the end of the day, after our paid job, because it is the work that calls to our heart, the work that will not be done, cannot be done by any other person. Our vocation is the work that brings us energy, buoys our creativity, makes our heart sing, brings a smile to our face and joy to our voice.
What is your vocation? This is a different question, I believe, from 'what do you do?' many people do not have the blessing of having their paying work also be their vocation. But somehow, I think, we are all called toward something that connects us with the gifts that are planted within us through our birth, our DNA, our life circumstance, our landscape. We can perform a job but we must live our vocation.
Thomas Merton's words and thoughts on how to live life always pull me back from the brink of doing too much of what seems to be required of me to what is my vocation.
"Discovering vocation does not mean scrambling toward some prize just
beyond my reach but accepting the treasure of true self I already
possess. Vocation does not come from a voice out there calling me to
be something I am not. It comes from a voice in here calling me to be
the person I was born to be, to fulfill the original selfhood given me
at birth by God."
Today I find myself pondering my vocation. Perhaps it is the time of year, November, that drear month of least light that is conjuring up this self reflection. Or perhaps it is a time of life or even looking forward to some yet to be written New Year's resolutions. Whatever the cause I am thankful for it. Each of us probably need to do more self reflection lest we find ourselves caught up too much in the urgent while forgetting the important. Vocation is important work. It is indeed the most important work, the fulfillment of 'the original selfhood given me at birth by God.'
Wherever you are on life's path, my prayer is that you have time today to reflect on your vocation. Are you living your life by the rules, needs, demands of some outside force, neglecting the inner voice that urges you toward the work that brings you joy? Or are you holding with pride and gentleness the treasure of your true self, nurturing it, supporting it, tending it? The voice of vocation can be a quiet call. But it is always a persistent one. We can try to drown it out by ceaseless, noisy activity. But, like the One who placed this voice at our center, it is, in the final analysis, a voice that will not let us go.
Have a blessed weekend……..