After years of getting what you were told is important (the house, car, good job), you realize that you are not happy. You get more things, but you still aren’t happy. You drink, you eat, you get angry, you take a class, but you still aren’t happy.

There is a nagging discontent.

The discontent is calling you to do more with your life. It will not be squelched with alcohol, TV, games, parties, food, promotions, or small talk. You can no longer complain about the state of things in the world without the nagging discontent.

It’s time to wake up and pay attention to your life. Look around and take stock of where you are: your health, your finances, your skills, your talents, your inherent gifts. Instead of asking what you can do to feel better or what toy you can buy to lift your spirits, ask yourself what gifts you have to give to the world.

If you’re not sure what your gifts are, try this scenario. Imagine you are diagnosed with a terminal disease and you have 3 weeks to live. Your son or daughter is 10 years old. You have a will and you’ve set up guardianship. You have a house and you’ve saved some money. Your friends and relatives will be a cocoon for them. What do you want to make sure to teach them before you leave the earth?

Do you want to teach them how to do 10 riffs on a guitar that you contrived when you were on a retreat one weekend in your 20’s? Do you want them to know about the importance of an education? Do you want to show them how to treat their husband or wife? The answer to this question is a clue to a gift. Something as unique to you as your DNA. It is latent within you and waiting to be shared with the rest of the world.

Another method is to pay attention to your complaints. What do you find most annoying in the world? Is it voter apathy? Is it information privacy? Is it the healthcare system? Your avid complaints signal a passion for change in that arena.

At this point, many people ask where they will find the time. Some people say that they will pursue their passion once they are retired. Others say that they don’t have the luxury of pursuing passion, they have to make a living.

What good is a living without a life? If you spend the most productive years on your life pursuing someone else’s dream, when will you have the energy to work on your own? If you don’t have the time to work on your passions, what are you spending it on?

Most important, if not you, WHO?

In Spirit,
Nneka