I recently finished a lovely book, How the Light Gets in—Writing as Spiritual Practice, by Pat Schneider. As you can see from the picture pasted below, I underlined and tagged many pages. How the Light Gets In earned a place on my favorite books shelf. I love books that are part memoir and part instructional manual. Schneider takes readers on a journey of her life and highlights the links between writing, spirituality, and healing. In the final chapter, she makes several poignant statements about vocation or calling. Schneider suggests that each person, no matter what the social category; age, gender, race, or social status possesses a calling.
Similarly, I would argue even more passionately that each of us is constantly being called. But most people appear confused about what a vocation or calling is. My former students believed that vocation or calling are terms only applicable to the ministry. As I tried to disavow them of this misnomer, I wondered what would happen if educational institutions took the discernment of a vocational or calling as serious as seminaries do. As an academic adviser, I hoped a structured discernment process existed for students interested in all occupations. Moreover, the issue of calling arises many times over the course of a lifetime. Currently, questions about calling dominate my conversations with adults of varying ages, even some I perceive as elders in spiritual direction/companioning. Pat Schneider maintains one method of discovering a calling is to pay attention to what brings you joy.
This idea is very similar to Howard Thurman’s famous quote: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who can come alive” or Joseph Campbell’s admonition “Follow your bliss.” What would the world be like if every person could listen for and become engaged in work or activities that brought them joy. Yet the quotes by Thurman and Campbell allude to a different term; passion. Are they the same or interchangeable experiences? Synonyms of passion include fervor, enthusiasm, zeal or an intense desire while descriptions of joy include delight, pleasure, happiness, and jubilation. Is there something special about the feeling of joy that is different from passion?
I see this contrast playing out in my life. I held a passion for teaching but now I know deeper joy. It almost feels oxymoronic for me to declare the delight I feel when I arise to work. Eagerly I sit down to my desk to write or to greet those who walk through my front door for spiritual direction/companioning. I look forward to the retreats I lead and talking with spiritual seekers. What characterizes my present work that seemed absent in my past labors?
Since retiring, I have carved out a set of activities instead of adapting to the tasks associated with my job. For example, I noted earlier one of my favorite aspects of my profession was advising students. I could have advised students all day, every day. I felt especially jubilant when I witnessed a student discover a calling. What helped me to determine if a students had unearthed a hidden occupational delight? Often I posed a series of questions and observed their behavior. I would inquire, “What would you do if you lacked any constraints, if you had all the time and money in the world?” “What kind of work would you do for free?” “Which activities bring you joy?”
I noticed as students, seated across from me on a couch or chair, talked about a variety of possible careers, there was a moment in the conversation when they lit up like a Christmas tree. The light in their eyes and the joy in their voices provided the mighty clues that we had stumbled upon a calling.
A few students would note their own inner excitement, and pursue that path. Unfortunately, I also encountered students who could or would not follow their dreams. Many chose careers that their parents wanted for them or fields of study that might generate the most income. I would remind them that whatever vocation they chose, it would need to get them out of bed for the next 30 or more years. I counseled further that some occupational choices would be more difficult to undo than others. Becoming a doctor for example, involves a deep investment of time, energy, and money. Further, once students start families and begin to purchase cars and homes, changing careers becomes far more challenging, if not impossible. What is most remarkable is that my advice was quite similar to Patricia Schneider’s or Howard Thurman’s even though I neither knew of or had read anything by either author at that time.
The experience of joy is important for daily life balance as well. The frenetic world we live in, burdened with overactivity, overstimulation, and relentless distractions requires counterbalancing. Joy helps to uncover the counterbalancing activities. What is most joyful—watching a movie, sitting outside in nature, listening to music, dancing in the living room, or reading a book? Regardless of the activity selected, it is essential to surround ourselves with our delights. Otherwise if we become stuck on the treadmill of life, the endless tasks will wear us down. We must get off for some rest and fun.
Where is joy beckoning you? Following it whether it leads you to the kitchen to bake cookies or brownies, to the swings in a park, to a sporting event is what gives you vitality. Perhaps taking a moment to observe the changing colors of autumn leaves or watch hummingbirds and butterflies, will provide the joy that is the perfect antidote to what might ail you. Following your joy will definitely lead you to feel more of the peace and joy in your heart.
