I was very moved this morning, as I read the “Daily Om Inspiration” newsletter posting, entitled: “Fighting Against our Gifts,” because for me, this is the real jeopardy of our times. Many people have no idea what their gifts are and how their gifts might be used to contribute to others. Without recognizing our gifts and having contexts for offering our gifts, we are missing in action, our life becomes colourless, and we have an aching feeling that we don’t belong or that we are off course.
In my life, when I am meeting people, I carefully observe what “lights them up”. I listen for when their voice becomes more animated, and full of life. I work at cultivating a deeper awareness in people, of “who they are and who they are becoming.” This is an essential step, if one is to support others in being capable of seeing more possibility in their life. It supports the person to wrestle inwardly with the questions of: “What makes me singularly unique?” and “What do I want in my life?”
As the relationship unfolds, I try to “mirror back” as closely as I am able, what I see the person getting excited about, and what seems to give their life meaning. I believe that when I see a certain vitality arise in a person, it has something to do with their gifts and talents. They are “in the groove” so to speak. They are expressing the most intimate part of themselves, their purpose and what they are here to do in the world.
Our life energies are stoked when we can invest our efforts in what we love and where we want to make an offering, a contribution that is outside of us. When we can begin from the place of our gifts, we are much more likely to be seen and heard by others. We are less likely to be devalued by negative stereotypes. We have the possibility to be in service to others.
As the excerpt below says, if we are not able to acknowledge or work out of our gifts and natural talents, we will not be able to stand out or be invited to offer them to others. We need each other to see ourselves more clearly and to muster our courage to claim, and live out of our gifts. More emphatically, the article suggests that pushing away or not paying attention to our calling or what we are here to do, may have paralysing and detrimental impacts on our life.
I believe that during the pandemic, people scrutinized more deeply than ever before, what they wanted and what they were here to do. They began striving to get closer to a more meaningful life that had a greater purpose. People were no longer willing to stay at unsatisfying jobs, that diminished their potential or did not give them a sense of purpose. Not only did the pandemic disrupt our sense of whether we would or would not settle for less, it helped us take a stand for ourselves. It encouraged us to investigate our values and form more coherent boundaries.
For some, this necessity for change came from a greater awareness of our own mortality, as well as a deep insecurity, and even distrust, of political systems. Nevertheless, if the pandemic has re-calibrated our desire to follow our inner voice and search out a calling for ourselves, it was worth at least some of the suffering and severing of connection, that it brought. In effect, the pandemic became, for many of us, a “still pool” to reflect on what matters most.
It is really apparent to me, that those I support, people and their families and/or loved ones, feel this grief and a deep longing to imagine better in their lives. The changes that people want to make in their lives are closely interwoven with the people that play a key role in their lives. These are the people that are there, and who can support the person to trust in their gifts, and believe that there are others in the community, who are willing and prepared to create opportunities to welcome these gifts, and make them apparent to the world.
This is where I derive my hope and appreciation for what is possible and doable in the world today. This is what I try to attune to in my life, and in the lives of those who are connected to me.
Continually fighting against your gifts may bring about a louder knock at your door that you won’t welcome.
For example, if you are meant to be a healer and are trying to be a lawyer, you may have trouble getting or keeping a job. This doesn’t mean that you can’t still be a lawyer, but perhaps integrating your gifts into your work is what is calling you. On the other hand, you may simply feel an underlying anxiety that you are not on the right path. Pay attention to this feeling, and ask for guidance from the universe, being open to all its communications, from subtle internal yearnings to powerful dreams. As you begin to risk opening the door to your natural gifts, your life situation may shift in a powerful way. However, you may find that small steps in the right direction, such as taking a class or setting aside one night a week to paint or write is enough for now.
The first step on the journey to our calling in life is to listen to our internal voice and respond to the universe knocking at the door. As we do, the symptoms and anxieties that have haunted us will fade into the background, replaced by opportunities, both big and small, to open the door to what we are truly here to do.