Have you ever wondered what your true calling is? I wonder that. At different times in my life I've thought that I knew what my calling was. When I was in my teens I thought it was to be a ballerina. Then I thought it was to be a playwright. After that I thought it was to work in the film industry. Then I thought it was radio.Well I guess you get the picture. Over time I have gone through many "callings". At this point in my life I'm not sure if I really have a calling. There really isn't anything that I can think of that I want to be the best at, that was always my idea of a calling, wanting to be the best at something.
It would really be nice to find another calling. I'd love to feel the passion of having a calling again.
Have you found your calling?
Has your calling changed over time?
Has your calling changed over time?
18 comments:
dear mdc,
as it is with you i was looking for my true calling all the time.
i always thought it would have to do with humans, their behavior and the meaning of it all...
for a very long time i thought i was going to be an archaeologist, as i was really fascinated by history and i dragged my grandpa to museums and old castles and stuff...
when i was fourteen i started wishing to be able to discover the truth about anything and wanted to become a journalist... i worked hard to go there and was already pretty far on this path when i realized that if you want to know and spread the truth, journalism is not really the way as it denies its own ideals and became dependent from sponsors and lobbyists...
after that i was a little lost, i tried to find my calling in sociology as i hadn't abandoned my ideals about the truth behind everything and how it all works together yet...
looking at the abysses of mankind all the time at some point i got so disillusioned about humans and social behavior that...well let's say my calling right now tells me to be an animal keeper...
I used to think that it was to be a writer, but recently I am questioning that as opportunities did not open up like the red sea. I have always wanted to work in television and radio also, but never had the opportunity. It is a little disheartening.
What a beautiful pic - so graceful and elegant! As for my true calling, probably I was meant to be some sort of artist - painter, writer, playwright, whatever - as I'm a very creative person. But my childhood was very conventional and authoritarian and prevented my creativity flowering as it should have. I'm not complaining though, I've had an amazing life and so many fabulous experiences, I shall die happy with no regrets!
From all indications, it appears as if being a writer is my calling. At least being a writer is where I find the most meaning and enjoyment.
And I'm not talking about my blog writing either. lol.
Growing up, I always wanted to be a journalist. Sports journalist, actually. I attended college with that in mind but dropped out after only 3 semesters and went to the Army. never went back to college.
So now I am tryng to accept my calling.
mes deux cents, I struggle with my calling cause I am totally unsupported to make films. Sometimes I wonder why I still want to do it. I too have had several callings before it, but they all were oddly, film-related. So I figure this is where I supposed be.
As you know, life is a journey. It's natural to switch it up. I, for the life of me, do not understand folks who've only had one career their whole entire lives.
MDC you know that I don't know what my calling is and I am still looking for it. I do believe we all have a calling.
MDC - It sounds like your calling is to express and create. I think - so often - people want a "calling" to be a specific career path - they want their options narrowed and think that there will be just one thing that they focus their energies on and that because they are focused that one thing will just happen for them.
I think so often we look at people like Steven Spielberg who, they say, got his first 8mm camera when he was something like 9 years old and instantly knew he was to be a filmmaker because his passion for it was so strong.
Sure, there are people like that. But more often than not, I think it makes for a good press release.
I think for most of us - we have a variety of interests that are, more often than not, connected by an underlying passion.
Some people are on a quest for understanding. Others need to express themselves. Still others feel a need to provide order and structure. Some people feel called to lead, to teach, to nurture, to protect.
The forms that all these passions can take are almost endless. Some one who needs to create and express may be a writer, a dancer, a singer, and actor, a designer, a visual artists - and on and on. And it may take a while to decide on just the right medium for ones passion. For some it might even become a life-long quest. But a certainly a worthy one.
I think, some, few people get lucky enough to strike on just the right profession or vocation to match their passion and that underlying passion extends into the approach they've chosen.
And really that's what it's all about - a calling. I don't think it's about having a desire to be the best at some thing. It's a passion for doing something or another - a strong pull towards certain things. And when you hit on the one way that works best for you - it becomes a desire to do that thing which is so strong that nothing can keep you from it.
You will keep trying at that thing no matter how many people tell you you can't do it, no matter whether everything in your upbringing told you that the thing was ridiculous or even wrong, no matter whether you fail at it a thousand times, you keep going back to it. When there's something that you can't stay away from regardless of circumstances or success - that's your calling.
I think ultimately - as I said in the beginning of this too long comment - that your calling is something creative/expressive. You keep coming back again and again to creative pursuits - which clearly expresses a passion for it. You just have to find the one that fits who you are the best.
I once heard a pastor say that we all have a "bent" on our lives. As children we have a strong desire to do something more than anything else. We gravitate towards it wheather it's sports, music,writing,dancing,science,math,or whatever. We have a strong desire to perform in that areana. That doesn't mean that it won't change as we grow older or as life presents different paths for us to take. As children we have tunnel vision, but as the world opens up to us, we may pursue other things.
For the last few years I have felt as if I was on the edge of finding my calling. I have always wanted to be a writer and to work in a creative field. Well, I do write for a living, but I'm not so sure that marketing writing is what I was put on this earth to do. My blog has allowed me to write just for pleasure. It has always been my dream to be published and to be recognized for my writing--to move and affect people with what I create. I feel closer to achieving that than ever before, but not there yet.
I've had 768 callings, really.
Sigh. It's all too much to get into here.
But I am certain my calling is that of communicator. I'm still trying to determine how. I have two sides; creative and non-creative.
I still want to write my Oscar winning screenplay. LOL. My blog writing is fun but I do enjoy creative writing. I wrote a screenplay and it was a great experience. I want to do it again.
Today -- Sunday, February 24th, my calling today is to study and teach (whether as an instructor or writer or speaker of some sort) holistic nutrition. I've had this calling before. I've had it for a long time, actually. Now, it's calling me again. LMAO.
But whatever I do, I'll always write because I enjoy it. Maybe one day I'll be paid for it. LOL.
I know that blogging, as a career, as opposed to merely a diversion, is not my calling.
Check in with me next week, for my next calling. LOL.
Excellent post.
I'm screwed up.
Sigh.
I always knew my calling was to work in some aspect of the fashion industry. Though I sort of went against this by becoming a teacher instead because I knew it would be a secure career option. I think I was even afraid to follow through on my calling thinking it was just some "silly" dream.
So now I'm backtracking and I am focused on fulfilling my passion this time around no matter what.
I don't regret becoming a teacher however, It helped me realize just how much I needed to follow my dream.
Also, I plan to go back to teaching after I have "made it" to teach others that its OK to follow their dreams.
Great Post!
well I definitely do not know my calling. I've struggled with this for the last 4 years. Here I am in college., less then one semester away from getting my degree and I know in my heart that I don't want to do what that little paper says(degree in IT).
Like the others said, I've always had varying interest in interior design,fashion,music, computers, and math. I just dont think its fair that most jobs are made to fulfill maybe one of these interests but not all.
Excellent post by the way:-) I think I will have to blog about this as well when I know what direction I want to go on..
Kayoz,
The great thing about blogging is that you can be your own independent journalist.
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XP,
Small radio stations are always looking for on-air staff. Most of them will train you and you can work part-time.
So it's not too late to give it a try!
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Nick,
And that is the important thing; to be satisfied with your life!
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Don,
I can't wait to read your book!
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BWU,
The funny thing is; in a way I envy people who are satisfied enough to only have one job for a lifetime.
But I'm glad I'm not one of those people! :)
Filmmaking is so alluring. I may still have aspirations in the area.
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JJ B,
If you look for it I truly believe you will find it. I'm looking hard! :)
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FL,
Yeah I think I used to have that fantasy of falling in love with a particular field when I was young and sticking with it.
But no such luck!
And you’re right about it not really being about being the best, but that has always been my desire.
You comment is NOT too long!
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T.I.C.,
There was something very comforting in having that tunnel vision.
I miss it.
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Tami,
I think you are well on your way to you goal; your posts are already very inspiring. :)
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Baby Please,
Only 768? Lol
Writing is one of my loves but I find it very isolating at times. I can become too comfortable in that aloneness.
I used to have a desire to write a screenplay. I think it might still be something I'd like to do.
You definitely have a gift for writing! I love reading whatever you write, comment or post!
Hmmm, holistic nutrition sounds interesting. As you know I'm getting into nutrition myself.
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Samii,
That is a wonderful thing to go after your passion! I applaud you.
Fashion seems like an amazingly exciting and interesting field.
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1/3 of,
If you are still in college then you have plenty of time. It's a good time to just explore and try different things.
Internships are a great way to see what you like.
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Calling? What's a "calling". and how come I don't hear it yet?? (puts ear up to laptop eagerly listening for...)
Ok, ok MDC... enough with the jokes you say. I know. I, too, am not sure what my "calling" is. As a child I was not only having tunnel vision, I lived in a tunnel of sort. I was very sheltered, no OVERLY sheltered to the point where I never developed like normal kids. I was not put into to say dance, sports, not anything that would help me get A path much less on one.
I was a teen by the time I had real interactions with other kids and by then I was just ALL over the place like a leaf in the wind. I never stuck to one thing nor found any one thing to stick to me. My zodiac sign is Libra and we are supposed to be be excellent in communicating, selling and educating. Strong social skills are in all of those but I lack stick-to-it-tiveness, if you follow me. I get bored REAL easily and move off stuff if it fails to keep my attention in many ways.
So as a misguided but ever so healthy adult who's been on more than a few dirts roads, as I say, I hope my "calling" rings me some time soon. Maybe I'll be there to answer but... just my luck... I'll be no where near the ringing apparatus and miss it yet again. (sad, I know) I've long stopped looking in hopes that it'll call me AND bop me upside the head.
I was supposed to respond yesterday, but was at my parents' house so I didn't have time. To be honest, I don't know wht my calling is. I'm on the path to finding out what my calling is. One thing that I know is that all of the jobs I have ever had have involved working with children. Ever since I was a child I felt drawn towards working with younger people. So I think that my calling has something to do with that. I have also always been a creative person. I express this creativity through writing. I'm also trying to get into computer graphics and design. That's one of the reasons that I started blogging. I feel I'm a decent writer and was not writing enough to really develop my skills in this area. So, I don't know where all of this is going to lead but I'm open to whatever plan God has for my life.
I don't really know. There are so many things that interest me. Project Mgt., Writing, planning events have all been on my list.
I do feel that writing is now #1 because of my blogs. The question becomes can I make a good living from doing what I've come to love?
It sucks to have to ask those questions and I still don't know MDC.
Lady Di,
It sounds like you had an interesting childhood. I remember you writing about it before. I hope you post about it.
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Tasha,
Sounds like teaching computer skills to kids might be something to check into.
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Danielle,
Event planning has caught my atention a few times. I amy look into that one day.
I still don't know either! So at least we aren't alone. :)
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MDC,
I actually started 2 separate blogs but need that push to actually post it. For now, they're drafted until...
But for now, Fur Friends taps into a lil of my history as does Strange Things Part 3.
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