Years ago, my day began with the sound of an alarm clock,
the rush of morning dressing and breakfast and the continuous
worry of getting to where I needed to be or getting others
to where they needed to be. Then, the day, feeling long, was
controlled by the tasks imparted by others. The day was recorded
by answering the ringing telephone, filling out emotionless
papers, accounting for materials and dollars that did not
belong to me and most prominently, pretending to be aroused
by the listless activity of corporate world. And, like all
the others in my environment, I languished in the desire to
find peace of mind, looking forward to any relief.
When my work day come to an end, I fell into step, looking
onward to an evening filled with home duties. And, believe
me, I was not a happy partner in marriage or a happy mom,
neighbor any friend. With the small amount of time allotted
to nurturing my own spirit allowed near bed time, I routinely
fell into a trance while sitting in front of the television
set.
And, once a year, one glorious week was dedicated to relaxation
and peace of mind. We, the family, planned our vacation as
wisely as possible. The dates were picked. The location was
discussed and finally the family embarked upon a long drive
toward an event filled yet restful spot. Typically, the first
two days of vacation were filled with hustling activities,
created to help the hard worker unwind. Usually those activities,
while entertaining in nature, were the stressful in that I
was still in the work mode, feeling inclined to panic if we,
the family, were late or not fully prepared. Then, as I set
through the event, my mind would continue to run ahead of
my physical body and think about the chores of the next few
days. By day three or four my body would begin to relax and
I would, for the first time, begin to feel the on slot of
vacation. And then, on days five or six, I would begin to
dread returning back to my regular life. And finally, by day
seven, the family would, with sad faces, begin packing and
moving back into our vehicle to return home. It is usually
at these times that my mind would wonder and begin to question
the purpose of life. For me, a life filled with such demand
seemed to be somehow wrong.
I sat down and with determination, began using my natural
and common sense to develop a new life plan. While, I had
my intuition at my beckon call, I did not necessarily know
how to use it to financially support myself. And, like everyone
else in the world, I had financial needs.
Each Sunday, I would travel to an historic town in Maryland.
And there, I would meet clients and help counsel them. My
fees were quite reasonable. So, while I was fairly busy, my
fees could not financially support my or my family’s
needs. Then one day, I counseled a woman who had found herself
stuck in a difficult life lesson. She worked hard at her career
and raising a family. To support her financial needs, she
was forced to work hard. And, in the process she grew tired
and frail. As I suggested to her that she take the time to
find a new career and a healthier life to follow, she explained
to me how she felt that she could not take the time to actually
seek a new life and new employment. I began to explain to
her that one simply needs to develop a vision and than trust
that vision enough to lead her along the way to a better destination.
As
I continued to speak to her, I heard my own words and decided
to take a tremendous leap of faith and throw myself into the
work and life that I most wanted to live. And in that process,
I learned to vacation always. When one learns to work only
for that which she loves, then, she is vacationing always
for it is the love for our work that keeps us healthy and
strong of spirit and mind. When we learn and become determined
to work within our love, then we will feel happy. We will
be happy.
While, it is not advisable to simply resign from a present
work situation when a next situation is not close at hand,
it is possible to begin making small changes that take us
toward our love.
Here are my personal suggestions:
1. Spend quality time, deciding what you enjoy doing. Make
lists of things that make you happy. And, use these lists
to determine the exact nature of your joys.
2. Use creativity and freedom of thought to determine a career
path that allows you to participate in the things that you
love. Be playful when deciding upon this career. Perhaps you
will invent a job that does not yet exist. Act as if you are
a child and pretending or playing a game. Choose a career
as if you were a magician and all can be possible.
3. Once you have chosen your career then realistically look
at places that might offer you opportunities to practice this
path. Plan to volunteer your time and skills. When you are
new and learning, do not expect to be financially compensated
for your time. These new places will be more inclined to allow
you to join them and hone your craft if you are not asking
for financial compensation. Then, practice, practice, practice.
4. Eventually, if you love what you are doing, you will find
that you become quite expert at your work. Then, you will
find that others begin to seek out your help or ability. Then,
you are ready to set a small fee for your work.
5. Seek to work and practice your craft on a part-time basis.
As you are still employed at your previous career path, you
will have to gently give yourself time to practice you work
of love. Then, as you grow more and more in demand begin to
raise your prices. As the market allows you to raise your
prices higher and higher, you will raise them. You will know
that if you raise your prices and lose clients or customers,
you have raised your prices beyond what the market it willing
to pay.
6. Now, when you have found the work you love and determined
your financial value, begin to work less at your previous
job and more at the job you love. Eventually, you will be
able to walk away from that which is not healing and fun and
toward that which you love.
7. Now, you are vacationing always and life will feel wonderful.
sHEALy
