"The ancient Romans used to say that the Fates lead
those who will, and those who don't they drag."
Gregg LeVoy, Callings

The concept of "having a calling" is like an old friend to me. Having attended St. John Fisher College, a university run by the Basilian Fathers (one brotherhood in the very "calling-oriented" Catholic faith), I saw discussion of one's calling happen as easily as discussion of economics or English or math (or, it being a Catholic organization, religion). Even as a small child, though I might not have intellectualized it as such, the call of the muse, the fates, the small still voice within, or that beckoning from the Great Unknown was so constant a companion that I would have considered it "a no brainer." Do I have a calling? Yeah, every day (duh)!

Now that I'm a bit older, having lived longer in our intellect-guided and reason-worshipping world, I see and hear all around me people wondering what their calling is, what their purpose is, what they're here for. Books, magazines, television shows, and good old-fashioned conversations circle and pick at the issue as a matter of routine. The whole topic is a cause of much cultural angst, it seems, because at the root of a question like, "What's your life purpose" are assumptions that whatever you're doing at the moment is NOT your calling or purpose, and that you have just one (usually title- or job-oriented) calling.

While that may be the case, it isn't necessarily true that your calling looms far off ahead of you in some never-quite-there future. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, you're always right in the midst of an opportunity to awaken and practice your calling in the world. Calling isn't a destination, nor is it "the perfect job" or the ultimate in impressive job titles. It's also not a matter of "easy" or "hard" - as in, "Since today was easy, this must be what I'm called to do" or, "This is really hard for me, so I must not have 'found my bliss.'" Those are very worldly definitions, measures and trappings in a culture that too often (and incorrectly) associates any measure of discomfort or suffering with failure.

What is calling then? An opportunity to practice and hone your gifts in a multitude of ways, in service of a multitude of people, in a multitude of situations all along the way. Don't put off until tomorrow what you have the opportunity to practice today — not just in one way, or at one "off in the future" time, but in many ways, right now. Can't hear the hints? Quiet down and listen. Can't see the clues? Just take a closer look around you.

The Ivy Sea Big-Vision Conscious Livelihood kit offers a select collection of exercises and reflections from Ivy Sea's highly regarded Vision Launch Pad workshops created exclusively for Ivy Sea clients. Buy the Vision-Energizing Value Pack, and receive the Vision Clinic Tip Kit as well. You can also purchase each kit separately.