Saturday, July 18, 2009

Do we have a higher calling and if so what is it?

Do we have a higher calling and if so, what is it? It seems to me that many of us wonder about this a lot. There are those that accept fulfilling each step of life's passing as their calling. Being a good kid, a good student, good husband, great father, do the right thing and saved for retirement. Some of us do these things with a sense of purpose and delight and some of us do them from a sense of duty and responsibility. The latter group feels a higher calling. We feel a need to make a bigger contribution. Some do and some don't.

The troubling part is the latter group makes the same contribution, though distracted, to family, career and society they just don't value it in the same way. We view it as expected, as what everyone does in a normal life, our duty. There are no medals given for meeting expectations, we think. We fail to see the heroism in meeting expectations and maybe never inventing anything or having buildings or schools named after us or not finding the cure for cancer.

We do get an A for effort living with the reality and the vivid pictures of what we hope to achieve in our minds. We spend too much time dreaming but some of those dreams do come true. No one will write about us in the papers but the people around us had a unique exposure to a person who lived with big ideas and hopes. Ideas that perhaps didn't match capabilities, temperament or simple discipline. Dreams that didn't happen maybe just because of bad timing, just not meant to be.

The loving woman in my life told me one day that I am a tormented soul and always will be. Perhaps, all dreamers are tormented souls trying to find a balance. I don't think that helps me feel any better except to say this is how you are get over it. I do know the dreaming the the drive to be different, creative and to bring something special to the world never stops. I am thankful for the drive and focus this brings to my life.

Perhaps my intensified dreams are an idealized and amplified sense of hope. Hope is a key factor in enduring the tough stuff so we can stay the course achieve our goals. I guess there are three rules in life. 1. Never give up. 2. Never give up. 3. Never give up. Wow those are easy to remember.

Thanks for reading,

Lester

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