November 23

Listen to Your Life

Just before I left for my honeymoon, a colleague handed me a little book by Parker J. Palmer calledLet Your Life Speak. The book explores the nature of vocation and how we often miss the clues to what we are truly wired to do and be because we aren’t listening for the patterns all around us. Palmer argues that to uncover your vocation, or what is being uniquely called out of you, you must listen to your life and hear what it’s saying to you. We think that vocation is “out there” somewhere, but it’s often actually right under our own noses.

►Where do you seem to add distinct value to the lives of others in a way no one else does?

►What kinds of activities seem to bring you alive more than others?

►What do other people consistently come to you for?

►What perspective do you have that others think is a little

crazy?

Any of these questions can help you begin to identify your vocation, which can help you develop the unique voice that marks your creative work.

To uncover your vocation, you must listen to your life. Look for the patterns that are all around you.

QUESTION

As you consider the patterns in your life, how would you describe your vocation? What do you uniquely offer the world through how you engage each day?