  Spiritual
This week: Do You Know Your Calling? Edited by: NaNoKit  
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Some people have a calling. Others are still listening out, hoping to discover their purpose. I am one of those.
This week's Spiritual Newsletter, then, is all about the meaning of one's life.
kittiara |
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For the last thirteen years of my life, I have lived with someone who's good at pretty much everything he does. He is an excellent cook. He's created a thriving garden. He can play a variety of instruments and even when he's never played a particular instrument before, he can pick it up and soon get a tune out of it. He's the best driver I know, skilled with technology, creative, intelligent, a good problem solver, and the kind of guy who people and animals alike feel instantly drawn to.
In school, he received good grades and was good at sports. At work, he quickly rose to the top of whatever field he chose to enter. I don't think there's anything I've known him to be bad at, apart, perhaps, from being able to distinguish between they're, there and their. Even so, he's a pretty good writer.
I'm not jealous of him – far from it. He never boasts, and he's an all-around good person. Besides, I am quite happy to benefit from both his insights and his cooking skills, even if his creations aren't always that great for my waistline. That's another thing – he can eat whatever he wants and never gain weight.
So, I'm not jealous, but it can be frustrating. That frustration is my problem, not his. It isn't his fault that I can't drive, can't swim, can't play an instrument, and can make even a cactus give up the ghost by either giving it too much love or too little. I'm not a very practical person.
I can use a computer, but don't ask me how, exactly, it works. I can cook a few basic meals, but give me random ingredients and I'll be distinctly uninspired. I'm clumsy, and awkward, and a dreamer. Cats love me, but people tend to think I'm a bit weird, and they're probably right.
When I was younger, I had a genuine belief that one day I'd make a difference. It wouldn't have to be a big difference, like creating world peace or ending global hunger, but I'd do something, however small, that would be of some benefit. As a spiritual person, I still feel that I have a purpose in life, but the question remains... what is it?
Recently, I've been puzzled because it appears that I have finally discovered something I am good at. Reading the above, it may come as no surprise that it isn't anything practical. According to my tutor, with the grades to back it up, it seems that I have taken to philosophy like a duck to water, which is nice, though it brings me no closer to figuring out the meaning of my own life.
Am I meant to prove Cartesian Dualism? I gave it a good shot in my last essay, but there's only so much you can do as a newbie philosophy student with a limit of 2000 words. The jury's out on that essay anyway, or rather, my tutor was away over the weekend so I don't yet have my score.
It is good to know that all that daydreaming and pondering of weird questions is good for something, at least, because if I keep up my grades it will open doors for me that have been shut all my life. My belated undergraduate degree could lead to a Master's degree, or even further. It's early days, and I don't want to get my hopes up... but I'm allowing myself the dream of a future in which funding for my academic pursuits is not a complete impossibility.
Some people have a calling. This can be a spiritual calling, or a patriotic calling or, in the case of my uncle, a calling to be a greengrocer. Others, like myself, are still waiting to be called, unless the call was such a quiet one that we simply didn't hear it.
I do have urges. I'll rant in my newsletters and articles about injustice and inequality and intolerance, about the unfairness of the political system in the UK and the government's demonisation of the poor, people with disabilities and people with mental and physical health problems, but it's a bit like spitting in the wind – it doesn't do anything apart from hit me right back in the face and label me as a tree-hugging, yogurt-knitting (whatever that is) lefty.
It's somewhat reassuring, then, that my talented companion still hasn't figured out his purpose in life, either. Whatever it is, I'm sure he'll be good at it. As for myself, I'm listening out, and waiting...
What about you, dear reader? Do you know your purpose? Were you called? If so, what was it like? Or are you, like me, just muddling through?
kittiara |
Here are some of the latest additions to the Spiritual Genre:
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The Spiritual Newsletter Team welcomes any and all questions, suggestions, thoughts and feedback, so please don't hesitate to write in!
Quick-Quill  - I love Wdc for this very option. I probably never would have stayed here if someone hadn't gifted me an upgrading within the first month of my joining. I don't have the $ to buy points all the time. I read and review and if I need a few points to achieve a goal I save and buy them. At first I hated spending real money for something virtual. As the years have gone, I've seen the value of continuing to belong to this community, even if I have to feverishly read/review to make the GPs I need to stay at my level. I just paid about half my Gps for editing and still feel it wasn't enough. The value of what you get from this site, depending on what you want from it, is worth the change you might set aside to pay for Gps or upgrading you membership. I have been published because here is where I grew as a writer. I will be forever grateful for Writing.com
I am so glad that W.Com has been helpful to you! Like you, I remember the kindness, encouragement and generosity of those who helped me get started on this site. My writing skills and my editing skills have blossomed, as has my confidence as a writer. It is a wonderful community.
~~~
Zeke  - Regarding the generous footballer, we have to admit that the media decides what we should believe. He should have been hailed as a hero.
That is very true. The media should be unbiased, but all too often aren't, which is a shame. Thankfully, in this case, most people saw what the footballer did as a good thing, rather than something done to boost his own profile.
~~~
Jeff  - Great NL this week, Kittiara! I agree that some people are never happy; in their eyes you're either always falling short or overcompensating... but the important thing is the act itself. If other people are going to judge you either way, might as well be judged for doing something that makes a difference in someone's life rather than being judged for doing nothing! 
Thank you! That is an excellent way of looking at it and, indeed, a great way to live!
~~~
Elfin Dragon-finally published - Your talk about selfless acts brought to mind, as you mention, all the people who serve our country, our cities and towns. And then there are those with the simple belief that if one gives money to a friend who asks that it should not be expected to be returned. Not a loan, not a favor, but a simple here you go I don't need it but you do. I think too many people have lost the aspect of what it means to give of oneself.
That reminds me of this couple I knew, who always tried to guilt their children into doing things. "We raised you," they'd say. "We gave you food and treats and the clothes on your back, and you won't even do this for us?" Even as adults, the children could never escape the endless demands, quite often unreasonable. It was effective, but not very nice. Surely parents are supposed to look after their children? And yes, most children are grateful to their parents, but the care a child receives should never be used as a weapon against him/her. It should be given freely, out of love.
~~~
shepherd46 - This is a wonderful article on "selfless deeds." Doing good for someone else is such a blessed thing to do and a gift that blesses the giver and the receiver.
Wonderful piece!
Morningstar
Thank you very much, Morningstar!
~~~
Wishing you a week filled with inspiration,
The Spiritual Newsletter Team
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Spiritual: April 23, 2014 Issue [#6286]
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