I’m sure you’re not unlike me. You’ve thought of giving up.
Those dreams you’ve had since you were a kid? Those moments you’ve lived over and over that make your eyes light up and your heart set aflame? Those seconds that fly by because you’re actually doing something that sets your soul free? They’re the moments that often seem so few and far between.
Most of us wake up each day and head to a place of employment that in no way inspires us. Then we meet these moments in time that keep us alive. The moments we write that new song or decorate the living room or teach young children how to count or check the pulse of our friends or create a healthy eating plan for our sister. They are the moments we actually give ourselves to what we actually love living and doing. They are the moments we collide with our passion and purpose.
Again, I’m sure you’re not unlike me. You’ve dreamt of partaking in your dream work daily. The desire to give yourself fully to what you hold dear has driven you to those small, beautiful moments in time where soul meets reality. Where dreams meet time and space. But you awaken the next day, get dressed and begrudgingly force yourself to arrive at the place that sucks those very dreams out of you. So, like me, you find yourself slowly entertaining the idea of giving up.
Why? Because actually living your dream and passion is not real. Right? Paying your bills each and every month while working hard on your soul’s work is impossible. Right?
That’s what most would say. Most would tell you ‘you will never make a living doing……….’
But what is a living after all? Spending 30 years at a no end job working from a four-wall office space dreading the idea of the next day and living Monday through Thursday looking forward to Friday? THIS is a ‘living?’
No. THIS is what madness looks like. And most of us have fallen captive to the ‘norms’ of society.
A society that tells you you can’t. But why do they tell you this? Fear. The ones who say you can’t are the very ones who have either never dreamed or are too scared to dream.
So they settle. They’re so busy making a living that they actually never live. They simply function.
But you and I want something more. Maybe the 9:00-5:00 is perfect for you. Maybe you absolutely love the job you have. No questions asked. Then you, my friend, are living your passion and that is exactly what I hope for you!
But so many of us are struggling and fighting and working every second of every day to make our dreams happen. We simply want to offer the world what lies within. Here’s the deal brothers and sisters: when you go to bed at night, you have to know you gave it your all. Period.
You gave it your all in the best way YOU thought possible. Not anyone else. Not your family. Not your friends. Not your co-workers. YOU.
If you do that you will wake up each morning with a renewed sense of being and purpose. You may get tired. But you will have days of rest and renewal. Your spirit will know that these moments and seasons of rest are simply preparing you to get back to your passion. So hold tight to what keeps you up at night. Hang on to those small windows of soul freeing work. And little by little STOP doing the other stuff. Stop listening to the ‘you can’t’ people and surround yourself with the ‘you can’ people. They will keep your fire burning.
Is it a little bit mad? NO!
What madness really looks like is NOT living your passion. Madness is allowing others to dictate your life. Madness is settling. Following your passion and dreams and creating wonderful gifts to give back to the world is the most important thing you can do.
So do it! DO IT! We need your gifts and passions and dreams. This is what normal really looks like. Never settle for anything less.
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Previously Published on Shift
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