There are a lot of ways to do it – what’s your favorite?
A few weeks back, we were introduced to the Hero’s Journey. Briefly, that is Joseph Campbell’s summary of his life’s work of studying all the myths of all cultures of all times.
No matter when, or where, our human story is all the same. There is a herald – a call of some sort that usually comes disguised as some sort of crisis – death, divorce, financial debacle, etc., and we have to make a decision. Do we rise to the occasion of changing our life, or refuse the call?
We have multiple occasions every day to accept or refuse the call. What is the call really?? It’s the call to greatness in your own life. After understanding what it is, you can see it everywhere.
After working with people for the last number of years, I can see the refusal of the call in everyone from time to time. Those who start this class and don’t finish have a laundry list of excuses. The reasons are endless. “I don’t have the time”, “I don’t have the money”, “It’s too hard”, “It’s not hard enough”, “I have kids”, “I don’t have kids’, “My husband doesn’t want me to”, “My wife doesn’t understand”, “I don’t know how”, “I’m no good at technology”, “I can’t write”, ad nauseam. Every time I think I’ve heard it all – I hear a new one. “My printer doesn’t work”, “The Zoom calls make me nervous”, “I can’t sit in front of the computer that long”, “They said the webinar would be 90 minutes”, “I don’t like that person’s voice”, “I can’t find index cards with lines”, and the most honest, but heart-wrenching of all, “I’m afraid”.
It is all refusing the call.
No matter how large or how small the call!
“I’m moving 4,000 miles away to a city I’ve never been to and opening a widget store.” or “I’m setting the alarm 30 minutes early to do my readings.” Those are the same thing, those are both calls to greatness. They are both possible. They both require action. They both require making a decision and following through.
The opposite is also true. “I can’t write my blog or be on the webinar because my life is so demanding. You just don’t understand, I have all these obligations.” Anytime you start a sentence with “I can’t . . .” know that it is an excuse. You are refusing the call.
Who said ‘yes’ to this class? (you did). Who started with all kinds of expectations of how your life could change? (you did). Who stacked your life up with obligations to everyone else, everything else, and crowded your life and time so full that you can’t breathe, much less follow the schedule and exercises of this class in order to create a fabulous life? (you did)
I realize I’m preaching to the choir here, because if you are still here in Week 21, you have accepted the call! I applaud you. I really do! I put you in the same category as some of our former members. One finished even though she was living on disability. She made all the PIF’s. One had four small children under the age of eight.
One had no printer and took a thumb drive to the print shop in the next town every week. One was legally blind. Many have lost parents during class. One lady lost a son. Several have had surgeries, lost jobs, moved, gotten married, gotten divorced, been sued in court, suffered computer crashes, hurricanes, and house fires. but they finished.
And so will you! I’m excited to see what God’s going to do next in your life!
There’s no one else I’ve noticed excelling in the application of faith any better than you, Nancy! You are my hero! 🙂
Thank you for the kind words, Loren!