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Knowing where you don't want to go can be a way of getting to where you want to be.
I just finished a very spirited conversation with a friend, and by the end of the call I realized - I don't know a whole lot. I think I actually know less than I thought I did.
Let me explain.
We got talking about work, and living a life where we feel we are pursuing our highest calling - whatever that means. She has been dragging her feet about career decisions so she was lamenting over that... then GET THIS...she had the gall to compliment me on having everything figured out based on my current lifestyle.
What?? Me...figured out my life calling??? Does she know who she is talking to? What she calls having "it" "figured out," others might call "unemployment" or "irresponsibility." I actually think I fall into that really, really, really, extremely gray area in between...we're talking Grecian formula for Men gray!
Lest my blogs fool you (and I don't think they do) - I've got very little figured out!
The more we spoke though, one idea did become clear of what I do have a firm grasp on. Now, I might not be able to tell you exactly what I want to do in life, for career, etc., but I can definitely tell you what I DO NOT want to do in life. That has been the easy part. It really seems that most of my major career decisions have been based on knowing what I didn't want - compared to knowing exactly what I did want. Isn't that life though? When someone asks you where to go for dinner it usually takes them offering 20 restaurants before one finally clicks. Or, when finding yourself in the wrong relationship - you might not know what you want - but you know it's time to move on from your current situation. So, why are you holding on?
Over the past year and a half, I have avoided certain job decisions like the plague - those being the decisions that I clearly know will not make me happy. This has made things feel scary and uncertain at times - but I wouldn't trade that in for the unhappiness and misery of working in a job that I cannot enjoy.
The biggest obstacle stopping my friend is that she doesn't know what her true calling is - so she continues to stay put until the better alternative presents itself. Sure, that makes sense. But, it makes so much sense that "the better alternative" will never come along.
We all want to have our cake and eat it to - but we can't - and our career is no different. Some people call it making the leap of faith, but I don't think it needs to be that dramatic.
Following your heart and true motives should not be a risk. It should be a relief. Even if you don't know where your path is leading you, or what that "dream job" looks like, you are never going to find it as long as you are still distracted by the fog of your current situation. When you take a positive step in that direction - the next step will appear in one form or another. We seldom get the whole big picture laid out for us, because what would be the point? When you buy a puzzle, how fun would it be if the pieces came already in place? (Note: that is a different puzzle analogy than my previous blog, and not contradictory...I know you were thinking that). :) In Science and Health , Mary Baker Eddy does a better job of summing up my thoughts when she writes, "Man walks in the direction towards which he looks, and where his treasure is, there will his heart be also. If our hopes and affections are spiritual, they come from above, not from beneath, and they bear as of old the fruits of the Spirit."
Just keep walking in that direction...and for me, sometimes the only direction I know to walk is away from the current direction I know I don't want to be heading. That should be enough...enough to get you to the next step. I look at myself and where I am sitting right now, and I honestly can't tell you what I will be doing 6 months from now. Sad? Not really. If anything, it is kind of exciting. I know what I won't be doing - and if I keep "not doing" work I don't enjoy - I know that Spirit will provide the next step for work that fulfills and inspires me. It always has.
The same spiritual law is true for you - but you need to take a step in that direction. Don't be like the monkey with its fist holding on to the past, or worrying about the future. Let it go, and free your thought so that you can see the next step waiting for you to take it - it is already there!
I have to say, this all reminds me of an Aaron Neville lyric (tight shirt and all), when he sings, "I don't know much, but I know I love you - and that may be all I need to know!"
We don't need to know much - and often just knowing what we don't want is all the guidance we need.
What do you know? Ignorance can be bliss :) Read more from this blogger at Travis Inc.
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