Life's Callings

Do you ever have one of those moments where you realize "this is it!". Not like in the bad way where you step in a fresh pile of dog poo on fifth avenue on your way to work and you're convinced the world is desperately trying to tell you to "just.    give.    up."

But one of those moments where the world actually stops spinning.

All of the masses of human beings speed walking through new york city become a blur and you feel invincible.

Some causes of this may include, but are not limited to:

• a random lady helping you gather your belongings for you on the subway after you are returning from a long weekend and headed back to the office
• the site of children running and laughing through the sprinklers at the park
• a heartfelt wink from a friend you had not connected with in a long time
• the end of savasana at yoga practice

It is moments like these that I truly believe the Universe is telling me something (I capitalize Universe because I respect it that much).

I had one of these moments when I was a freshmen in college and sitting in my Anthropology class and our Peace Corps recruiter came in and gave a presentation about her service. No words can describe the immediate feeling of "this is it" that I felt that afternoon. 

I knew that I was meant to be a Peace Corps volunteer. And I did it. And everyday was exactly as I imagined. And I am still living that experience. And I am so very proud of it.

It was so, authentically me. And it felt. so.   good.

Even the days when I stepped in poo, and I mean a lot of poo. I still loved it. That's the thing about doing the things you love. Doing the things that are true to you. The challenges don't matter at the end of the day. All the poo in the world doesn't make you give up on your passion.

Have you had a calling?

Do you know your purpose here on earth?

Do you at least think about it?

Or do you push it out of your mind the second it starts to creep in and you go and get comfy under the covers?

...I find myself doing that sometimes now...

That is when I remember something so very intelligent I heard awhile ago.

"Find the things you love. And do more of it."

So, I go to a lot of yoga classes-- because if you focus too much on your "life calling", the "big picture" it can be a little overwhelming. I may not be able to pull the covers down and create world peace, but I can pull them down and see the world more peacefully.

I can create a more peaceful body. I can create a more peaceful mind. And in that way, I don't need to create world peace. I walk it. 

I meditate. 

I run. 

I write in a gratitude journal.

I look at the water.

I walk barefoot...I feel the sand beneath my toes (not just walk mechanically on the beach, but feel the grains). I let the pain of the pebbly concrete awaken those pressure points that so rarely get poked.

I collect journals ...and carry all 7 of them painfully back and forth between the office and the apartment.

I read.

I play volleyball.

I laugh. I love. I cry. I think. I rest. I examine. I let go.

Because these are the things I love. And when I start to get overwhelmed about "my purpose in life", I realize that doing these simple things makes my purpose clear. It gives me faith.

Last night I went to the Gospel of Sweat, an amazing talk that was held at Riverside church and hosted by LuluLemon and inspired by my yogi-ism.

I listened to very powerful women (and some men), but very powerful women (I'm sorry but us women are powerful) talk about their meaning in life.

Suzanne sang in a beautiful tone with breathtaking lyrics that made all the little hairs on your arm stand up. Jeff touched the room with his love story. Schuyler genuinely had us laughing. Melanie inspired us as a successful mother, business-woman and cancer survivor (the same cancer my sister Danielle had as a child- Non Hodgkins Lymphoma). Gabrielle impressed us with her own survivor story that so many of us can relate to. 

Be what you need. 

It's time to share your story.

Find the soul in you and how it connects to the universe.

These are things they expressed in their stories. 

Don't deprive the world of the gifts you have been given. 

Because there is not one of us that has not been given a gift. And, oh what a shame to see things as the poo-y "this is it" and not the blissful awakening "this is it"...

I have fallen in love with NY again...for many reasons. But you know what has been SO awesome this summer? Meeting so many people who have not deprived the world of their gifts. Artists. Photographers. Entrepreneurs. Businessmen. Musicians. Cooks. Cleaners. Dog-walkers. People who have looked me in the eyes with that Peace-Corps-authencitiy I had, and smiled. 

Proud of their jobs, not because society told them to be. But because they were.

What makes life rich? How do you want to live? How are you inspired? How can YOU inspire?

Oh how very sweet and beautiful the world can be, if we let it. 

Someone just said to me moments ago, "you won't remember how many hours you spent in the office. But your stories you will have for a lifetime."

So let's create some stories people. It doesn't matter where you do it (heck, it CAN be in the office). It's not about the who, or the what or the where. Its the why you are doing something. It's about "being you". Do things you love. Stories are created by sharing experiences. 

There's a lot I don't remember about my life- my GPA, how much the flight cost to Vietnam, where I left all those clothes I had before Peace Corps.

But I remember the sweat I felt dripping down my forehead as I raced uphill alongside cancer survivors during my first triathlon. I remember the feeling of Karyme's chubby arms around my neck, and the way Lili's face changed into a beaming smile as I walked up to her house in El Salvador. I remember losing my breath as I jumped off that tall waterfall and I remember struggling to find it as I parachuted out of an airplane. I remember the nights of pouring rain banging on my roof in ES, where I could hear nothing but my own solitude- I remember crying alone in my barren house, praying for the night to be over...and it was, and you know what, it wasn't so bad the next day! I remember what the cold snow feels like on my nose when I play outside with my little sisters. I remember the laughter as I clung to the back of my older sister riding a motorcycle around Sapa Valley, Vietnam. 

Create moments.

Find things you love- and do more of them! Smile. Be. 

You'll be so amazed at what happens next.