From: Maureen M. Boston, MA
Dear Dr. Rosie,
I so appreciate your articles. They are very grounding and make me feel more normal, even when I’m panicking and unsure that I’m doing the right thing. My life is topsy-turvy right now. I’m leaving a two year relationship, I’m moving away from family and friends on a quest to find myself and the work I want to do. People say I’m crazy but I really feel like this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I know I won’t be homeless or destitute, but I don’t know much else. Is there a right way to do what I’m doing or do I just have to jump?
Thanks,
Maureen
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Dear Maureen,
Thanks for your courage and the willingness to follow your calling. You are not alone! What I mean is that, anyone, or everyone pursuing their dreams, their calling and their inspirations are on the edge of their comfort zone. The willingness to practice even just expanding your comfort zone or pushing the edge just a fraction of an inch can feel death-defying; it can feel as though you are jumping, leaping or maybe even falling off a cliff. And, the fact of the matter is you’ve done this hundreds of times in your life already “ that’s how you’ve gotten this far out – to this edge of your comfort zone.
Think about all of the times you’ve taken risks, not knowing if you were going to come out okay on the other side. Perhaps learning to drive a car; learning to snow ski down a hillside; asking someone out on a date, applying for a job or to a school. Maybe you’ve faced illness or loss. There are so many ways you’ve been pushing the edge of your comfort zone. Tell me, what muscles have you been building through all of these practices that has brought you to this new adventure?
Faith-Leaping Muscles
Obviously, the muscles you’ve been building, Maureen aren’t the physical muscles that have you run your fastest and jump your highest. Rarely do we witness people in the act of their leap-of-faith; though, it would be wonderful to see people leaping all over the world, wouldn’t it? It would certainly make it less frightening and more normal see all of the ways people are launching themselves into their dreams and their callings. For now we just have to accept that everyone around us is on their own trajectory, on their own path to who knows where!
Let’s look at what you are attempting “ this Faith leaping. What does that mean? It means that you are stepping out beyond your reason and logic and stepping into a knowing “ even though you don’t know how you know what you know, you still know. If you look at all of the incredible, even miraculous inventions on this planet you’d have to surmise that the inventors had to step out beyond logic and reason to come up with their ideas. Somehow they had a knowing that what they imagined could be realized. They took the leap and. . . .TA-DA!!!!
A couple of year ago I felt a calling to end the Transformational Coaching Training program I created and have been facilitating for almost ten years. It was a really important source of my income, but I kept sensing that I’m supposed to work with people and organizations who have more at stake “ whatever that means. It’s taken me another two years to wrap things up. The program has ended in its current form and I have no idea what’s next. So, here I am – launched! I am in the midst of my own leap of faith. At times I feel crazy and stupid, panicked and terrified. I may lose everything! And, the question arises “ what have I got to lose?
While sitting in a bathroom cubicle “ one of my more favorite places to contemplate, I was considering the option of perhaps taking a teaching position at a University until I knew what it was that I was supposed to be doing with the rest of my life. Then, I saw this image of me, leaping through the air. I have no idea how long I will be in mid-air and I have no idea where I will land, so the thought of taking a detour became an option. I imagined a pit stop along the way of my leap of faith, and it made me laugh. There are no pit stops on a leap of faith! I’ve got to follow my calling; I’ve got to see this through to this end. I love the humor of the Universe, don’t you?
Though following your calling, Maureen can look and feel as if you are insane, what I know is that so many of our religious and spiritual traditions are filled with texts and scriptures that encourage following our hearts, our courage and our faith. One of the more famous scriptures is this one:
And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of a mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be planted in the sea; and it should obey you. Luke 17:5-6
Rarely do I site scripture, but the idea that we only need faith the size of a mustard seed to fulfill our calling provides an image that makes it that much easier to nudge the edge of my comfort zone just that much further.
Enjoy the adventure, Maureen. And fully explore all the ways you are using those faith-leaping muscles, because, rest-assured, there are many more wonderful adventures to come.
Dr. Rosie
Author of Self-Empowerment 101
http://www.dailyom.com/cgi-bin/courses/courseoverview.cgi?cid=68
