"Just for today, devote yourself to your work."
What is that work? What is the work that moves you all the way to the bottom of your heart? If you close your eyes and breath, and relax your body until the world around you seems to slow to a crawl, what comes up when you ask, "What is my work? What do I love to do?"
Many of us are deeply blocked. We have resistance to even glimpsing the truth of our life mission--of our sacred calling--but this is our most important "work." On a soul level, our work may look abstract. It may show us as a concept, like "embodied unconditional love," which then filters down into our lives, showing up as a recurring theme in relationships and career choice. We may find ourselves deeply attracted to jobs, people, and living spaces which support our work in learning to embody unconditional love in all endeavors.
But most of us aren't looking for abstract concepts when we ask our soul about work. We are looking for tangible, materially applicable answers, which is one reason why we become blocked. See, the wealthy CEO doesn't want to discover that her calling is to give away her wealth and live on a cup of rice a week in a tin shanty, because she doesn't know how to do that. The stay-at-home mother comfortable in her role doesn't want to look into her heart and find that her deep calling is to leave her children for an 80 hour per week position as a state lobbyist where she feels she can make lasting change. We have this fear that when we look deep within, we might find a truth that challenges our being, too much. We don't want to let go of our comfort. We're afraid to lose loved ones, to lose our identity, ego, persona, and to lose our stability in an uncertain world, even if our very own heart is the one asking for change. We would rather be somewhat content with what we have than look deeper and discover that what we really need to be doing could require the sacrifice of our old patterns. Thus, when we ask the deep question about work, many of us tend to ask it with yearning hearts, and eyes shut as tightly as we can manage.
Change that. It doesn't have to be a battle, or an ultimatum about your ways of being.
For some, it takes a lifetime to understand what their work is. We hit upon the truth again and again, in different forms. People make the mistake of believing that career or vocation is the only way to define this sacred work. We look within for answers about work and expect that they should pop up as clear directives; "Become a plumber! Leave your job and go back to school to be a teacher! Start your own business!"
Sometimes that happens, but it's rare. Instead, you may look within an meet empty space. When you peal back your resistance to knowing, and you release expectations, you may find that you hold many truths and keys to understanding your sacred work. It may manifest as a feeling. You love how you feel when you're selling things. Or you truly feel in your power when you are playing the piano. These tiny revelations may not always pay the bills, but it is okay. You're being given insight into your work. Later, when you're ready, you will know the bigger changes to make.
For now, follow your insight. Just for today, devote yourself to that work. Just for today, devote yourself to the work that your heart is telling you needs to be done, today. Find ways to bring those impassioned pieces forward in your life, again and again. Make space to do what you love, always returning to the essential questions, "What is my work? What do I love to do?" This is what you should be doing. It doesn't need to replace or negate anything else in your life.
Doing this forges a deep and ongoing bond between your heart, mind, soul, and your body which takes action on behalf of those. It creates an inner strength that will allow you to overcoming a manner of obstacles. It forges a deep, soul-level honesty as you look repeatedly at your inner truths and honor them.
This is the beginning of understanding what it means to "do you work." Once you begin this process, then you can expand it, bringing the same deep devotion in to everything you do. If you are an artist at heart but a receptionist during the day, follow the art as much as you can, and apply that same level of devotion and perfection to your receptionist work. You are developing your integrity, your work ethic, and that deep bond. If your heart is not in the receptionist work, then look within once more, asking what you should be doing... Just for today!
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© 2011 Dailey Little. You are welcome to reproduce this article provided you do so in its entirety, including the copyright and this blurb: "Dailey Little is a Reiki Master and active practitioner. She teaches Reiki & other fun stuff through her private practice in Santa Rosa, CA. Join her joyful community for ReikiShares, Free Clinics, and eco-activism by signing up at her website, www.SantaRosaReiki.com"