03_2015: Demands

Two months away from this magnificent place is too long! I thought that with my new job (more on that later) and all my other responsibilities, adding one more thing to my plate would just overwhelm me. But how very wrong I was. For me, writing on my blog isn't just another job, or assignment, or even a means to an end. But rather, it's the one place I have that is free from the rules and expectations of others. Here, there are no guidelines, no requirements, and no word count limits. There's no trace of an editor's red pen and no other voice I need to replicate but my own. I realized to give that up, would be giving up the only place my soul has to breathe and grow and mature. 

We all have passions and talents in life, things that we are gifted at doing and doing well. For those of us who are blessed to be working in a field within our passion, it can be a dangerous balance to maintain. On the one hand, we usually love what we do! We get to wake up each morning knowing that our work is tailor made for us and we are truly needed. On the other hand, when work gets overwhelming, complex, or frustrating, it can become easy to start resenting the very things that once made you feel so alive. 

I am determined this will not be the case! We must find a way to use our talents, gifts, and abilities outside the realm of demands and deadlines. We have to allow ourselves to dream bigger than our assignments allow us. What passions in your life are being squeezed dry? How can you find ways to rekindle that flame that once burned so bright within you? We were created to be passionate, to have a desire to see something great come out of our lives that can't be measured by titles, followers, or tax return forms. 

When the limits are taken off, you are set up for the extraordinary. As Seth Godin puts it, "Your art is what you do when no one can tell you exactly how to do it." You are needed to create your own mark on this world and I'm sorry but, no one is going to be able to tell you exactly how to do that. But we can't afford to stay still. "Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have." -Margaret Mead