“I’m not busy—I can do it,” I imagine I said to God as I was wherever it is we hang out before our soul gets sent down to earth.
In this imagining, God had been searching for someone to go and take care of other people’s children. Being the helpful sort, I opened my mouth before I thought it through. I don’t even particularly like children for more than about fifteen minutes. But it’s the only explanation I can find for how I ended up caring for so many that weren’t mine.
About nineteen years ago, as my aunt’s husband lay dying of cancer, he told her that his soul’s mission hadn’t been completed. In fact, he hadn’t started it. Instead of singing and entertaining people on cruise ships, he should have been doing healing work. In short, he felt he had wasted his life.
That shook me to my core.
I’m not saying that there are unimportant jobs. People need to make money and so they need someone (preferably for free, like I so often was) to watch their kids while they go off to, say, make refrigerators. Everyone needs a refrigerator, which makes all the various positions involved in manufacturing, delivering, and repairing them vital if we’re to keep our food from spoiling. What’s more, a sympathetic ear on the assembly line can many times be more valuable than a therapist.
But was taking care of the children of others my calling?
Was working at my father’s various companies or at Harley-Davidson my purpose?
How about working at Unity Temple, as spiritual as it is?
I was employed there right around the time that my aunt told me that her husband, Scott, said he hadn’t fulfilled his mission. A month later, I quit my job.
And my aunt asked me to perform Scott’s funeral—my first.
There, I met someone who helped me receive my ordination.
Two months later, an acquaintance offered to walk me through being a wedding officiant.
And two months after that, someone I had never met contacted me and offered me all the weddings he had booked for that summer. He had made a sudden decision to move to Virginia.
When we’re on the right path, Spirit supports us and opportunities almost fall from the sky and straight into our arms. All we have to say is, “Thank you. More please!”
Nineteen years and almost six hundred weddings, memorial services, and baby dedications later, I’ve decided to move on to the next chapter. Who says we only have one soul mission?
Do you feel you’re living your purpose?
Sometimes, to move forward we need to reflect on our past. What have been some of your favorite moments? What experiences and people have brought you happiness? What would bring more joy to your existence? What would satisfy your soul?
Know that you are always a powerhouse of possibility. Optimism and ambition lead to success. Planting a seed, knowing its watering schedule, figuring out its unique needs bring it to bear fruit.
And that fruit will be satisfying on both the financial and soul levels.
As the poet Mary Oliver said,
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?”
