What is your calling?

[girl_dee]

GREAT thread idea.

My calling in life has changed over the years. When i was young it was to survive, i had no time to waste worrying about my calling. i had to put food on the table, that was my only calling. i took many *jobs* hussling and bussling to make ends meet.

When i started my career in banking it didn't fulfill that need i have to help others. i started volunteering. i worked at a home for teenage pregnancy and mothers. i worked with hospice. i worked at the Ronald McDonald house, Childrens hospital. Especially on holidays.

i ended up in New England after Katrina and went to work for a group home withe head injured folks. THAT was awesome. i felt like i was getting paid to volunteer. i wanted to do more, so i went to massage school learning bodywork and was able to work on them, bringing them some comfort. i was in heaven. i was with an alcholic partner and my personal life was in such turmoil i left New England and my dream behind. That was hard. VERY hard.

Now i am in Canada doing what i love again, bodywork. The health challenged, sick, cancer stricken, MS , car accident victims are who i work on. i'm in heaven again. i'm selfish, i have a need to feel good about what i do and i feed that need by doing just that. i am now in a teacher certification course where i can pass down what i know about bodywork and hopefully inspire others to get out there and touch someone!

My other calling? photography i've had a camera in my hand since i can remember. Soon i will be going out there to capture events for people and hopefully have fun doing it.

[Talon]

Originally Posted by Cajun_dee

GREAT thread idea.

My calling in life has changed over the years. When i was young it was to survive, i had no time to waste worrying about my calling. i had to put food on the table, that was my only calling. i took many *jobs* hussling and bussling to make ends meet.

When i started my career in banking it didn't fulfill that need i have to help others. i started volunteering. i worked at a home for teenage pregnancy and mothers. i worked with hospice. i worked at the Ronald McDonald house, Childrens hospital. Especially on holidays.

i ended up in New England after Katrina and went to work for a group home withe head injured folks. THAT was awesome. i felt like i was getting paid to volunteer. i wanted to do more, so i went to massage school learning bodywork and was able to work on them, bringing them some comfort. i was in heaven. i was with an alcholic partner and my personal life was in such turmoil i left New England and my dream behind. That was hard. VERY hard.

Now i am in Canada doing what i love again, bodywork. The health challenged, sick, cancer stricken, MS , car accident victims are who i work on. i'm in heaven again. i'm selfish, i have a need to feel good about what i do and i feed that need by doing just that. i am now in a teacher certification course where i can pass down what i know about bodywork and hopefully inspire others to get out there and touch someone!

My other calling? photography i've had a camera in my hand since i can remember. Soon i will be going out there to capture events for people and hopefully have fun doing it.

Don't you think that it usually* is* a journey of self-discovery, before we begin to discover what truly speaks to our individual hearts and minds? It's almost like you have to go through hardships in life, in order to be able to have true compassion for others...or what point of reference do you really have? I love how your passion really comes across, and you want to share this feeling with others in order to inspire!

[Daddislilgrrl]

Wow, great thread! I am fixin' to turn 49 this August, and I have finally figured out exactly where my calling and my passion lies. My calling is my current job, working in Support and Sales, out of my home, for 1-800flowers.com. It's a job I found by accident and I absolutely love it. It's helping me gain self confidence, after being on disability for more than 8 years. My passion? My husbutch Andy and I own and run a non profit small breed dog rescue. We rescue dogs from shelters (high kill mostly) and we vet them, and we rehab them, and then find these precious babies new homes all over the country. We use www.petfinder.com to advertise, and our website is www.arfctx.org . Andy had no idea what he was getting into when he met me LOL...but now after 8 years together he wouldn't change a thing.

Right now though, we are in dire need of donations because we took in 3 what were supposed to be chihuahuas and ended up being golden lab/chow mixes. These are gorgeous pups, and they are very wise. They need to be spayed/neutered, and are eating us out of house and home. But we are working hard to get the donations we need.

Thanks again for starting this thread. I love it!

Daddislilgrrl (Lisa)

[skeeter_01]

"Right now though, we are in dire need of donations because we took in 3 what were supposed to be chihuahuas and ended up being golden lab/chow mixes. These are gorgeous pups, and they are very wise. They need to be spayed/neutered, and are eating us out of house and home. But we are working hard to get the donations we need".

post your donation needs on www.chipin.com alot of the rescue FB pages that i'm on use chip in for donations.

and this goes right along with what i think my calling has become..it's changed over the years...95% of my employed life has been in the human service/medical field...i currently work at a HUGE level 1 trauma center/ER at a large university hospital as a clerk...LOVE IT!! however as i get older, i find my TRUE love is dogs...specifically pit bulls but i LOVE and advocate for all breeds...i've found that i like dogs better than most people!! my dream would be to have a rescue...

i'm just going back to volunteer at the local humane society...i did a couple years ago and the first dog that i took out on a leash for a walk, didn't have experience on a leash..he was a big boy..sheppard mix...ran full boat into my knee and tore my miniscus in 2 places...LoL!! so i'm goin' back...i'm just afraid i'm gonna bring them all home with me...be interesting in my little one bedroom butchler pad!

anyway...that's it for me...DOGS!! and the nicest thing about it...my bff is JUST a crazy about dogs as me!!

great thread!!

[mariamma]

I am scared of my Calling and have been actively avoiding it since I was 24. I'm scared because I'm alone in it (not really, *waves at fellow alien claybaby*) and I feel destined for a life of no money, no partner, no way out but writing and pulling myself up and hoping someone pays me for writing. Not writing what said person wants me to write (as in a job as a copywriter) but in writing what my spirit guide needs me to write.
It's in part because I want to be part of the Lesbian Intelligencia (the smart dykes club). And to be accepted, you have to earn money. Otherwise, you're invalid, a stay-at home mom, living off of someone else. Yet I am Priestess and have to live off what is freely given. That's how that system works. One cannot demand payment in currency. It has to be an energetically clean exchange of goods for services since I get info from spirits and as long as I have a smooth, clean connection, things work. If I'm stressed about money, trying to earn a certain amount a month, etc. that hormonal change decreases psychic connection and clarity of info. Specific, activation of the HPA axis and a spike in cortisol T unbalanced by other hormones.
It is my Calling to do the work of another, to collect info and write in honor of MamiWata (and GiftingMother), to bring back Shamanic tradition in women since connecting to the Source works via E (other hormones too but mostly E), to connect women to ourselves and all life thru promotion of energy work, to remind women of ancient Amazon traditions that we are still battling today (energy exchange, deforestation, global climate change, slavery, dishonoring of E and fear of E violence against LGBTQI people, exploitation versus fair-trade/organic/sustainable culture, etc.).
Most are here already. A daily spiritual practice (walking, yoga, meditation, dream work, dance, art, music, sex, etc.) is fundamental and many have a daily spiritual practice. Some have autoimmune diseases and need to become Rei Ki, Prana, energy practitioners in order to heal. A few will produce too much energy and feed spirits and demi-gods (and maybe they want to do other things with their energy).
I'm scared of my Calling because the first Goddess to claim me is MamiWata. She is twinned-souled, a mirror Who reflects back to you what you give Her. The second is Athena Who appeared from a crack of light before me, stepped out and sliced off my head with a huge sword, claiming "You are My woman! This (the head) is Mine. That (the body) is yours."
I'm scared yet I love MamiWata and Athena more than I can love a person. And They and my spirit guide who directs my life love me stronger than anyone ever has (I am one of those people who was unloved by my mother. luckily I was loved by my older sister. no one has come close to loving me as deeply as the Source, the Universe, the Goddess, MamiWata , Erzulie, Papa Legba, Black Athena or any other Godds I've met).
It is my Calling to finish GiftingMother's work. It's mine only in that I am threading together information into a narrative and spiritual practice. The info is and has been out there for years but discredited. Now modern neurobiology is a booming enterprise and what was poo-pooed is now coming accepted truth.
I trust the Godds more than I trust living humans. Humans lie for pride, profit, because they can't be wrong, etc. Humans tolerate dishonor as where spirits who lie, cheat, steal are not good and avoided at all costs (or hunted). The Godds cannot. Which is why They are Godds and we are lowly humans.
I'm scared of being alone in my Calling but this is my destiny. I cannot change my life. The Secret doesn't apply to me. I'm almost 43 and whenever I try to change my life, my spirit guide keeps me on her track. We're supposed to be in charge yet that doesn't apply to me. I am what one might call...pwned. I have to do my Calling in order to free myself, emerge into the woman I'm supposed to be. Maybe I should look forward to the good part. I can't see that far ahead though. But how else can I accept my Calling?

[princessbelle]

I believe you can certainly have more than one calling and that any calling can develop into a bigger area of learning and living....

Listening to my mother tell the stories, i have been a nurse since i was born. She tells of the times when i was very young, 5-6, when i would turn our home into a hospital and have baby dolls in all of the rooms where i would check on them and give them medication.

Nursing is definitely my calling. No doubt whatsoever. I married young and did not go to college right away. As with another calling i have, i raised my babies. I worked in doctors offices throughout the years and in hospitals. Anywhere i could to be around medicine.

When i finally went back to college and received my degree in nursing, my life was fulfilled. I have people ask me why didn't i become a doctor. As it would be a step down to become "just" a nurse? It is so very different. It is a different type of practicing medicine. Nurses protect patients, besides healing them. We are patient advocates and we stand, many more times than people realize, between doctors and patients to protect. We heal more than the symptoms, we help change people's lives by how they live. We request the help of many medical personal from different areas, such as therapies and social workers and sometimes the state, to better serve our patients.

We take an oath. We stand before our communities, our family, friends and before God and take an oath to always act on the behalf of the patient and in their best interest.

There are many nurses on this site. I will guarantee that we have all stood up to family, doctors, specialist and higher management within organizations when we have needed to on behalf of our patients.

A few years back i achieved the Nursing Geriatric Certification, and am now an RNC. This has become my passion. Our beautiful older population is very special with their own needs, abilities and right to live a long, happy life. My calling has developed into being their voice. I am involved with our Hospice side as well and will fight for anyone's right to die when it becomes apparent that is the end result of the illness.

What a wonderful achievement in life to find your calling and to be able to live it. Love reading these stories. Just a simply beautiful thread.

[Rockinonahigh]

Originally Posted by princessbelle

I believe you can certainly have more than one calling and that any calling can develop into a bigger area of learning and living....

Listening to my mother tell the stories, i have been a nurse since i was born. She tells of the times when i was very young, 5-6, when i would turn our home into a hospital and have baby dolls in all of the rooms where i would check on them and give them medication.

Nursing is definitely my calling. No doubt whatsoever. I married young and did not go to college right away. As with another calling i have, i raised my babies. I worked in doctors offices throughout the years and in hospitals. Anywhere i could to be around medicine.

When i finally went back to college and received my degree in nursing, my life was fulfilled. I have people ask me why didn't i become a doctor. As it would be a step down to become "just" a nurse? It is so very different. It is a different type of practicing medicine. Nurses protect patients, besides healing them. We are patient advocates and we stand, many more times than people realize, between doctors and patients to protect. We heal more than the symptoms, we help change people's lives by how they live. We request the help of many medical personal from different areas, such as therapies and social workers and sometimes the state, to better serve our patients.

We take an oath. We stand before our communities, our family, friends and before God and take an oath to always act on the behalf of the patient and in their best interest.

There are many nurses on this site. I will guarantee that we have all stood up to family, doctors, specialist and higher management within organizations when we have needed to on behalf of our patients.

A few years back i achieved the Nursing Geriatric Certification, and am now an RNC. This has become my passion. Our beautiful older population is very special with their own needs, abilities and right to live a long, happy life. My calling has developed into being their voice. I am involved with our Hospice side as well and will fight for anyone's right to die when it becomes apparent that is the end result of the illness.

What a wonderful achievement in life to find your calling and to be able to live it. Love reading these stories. Just a simply beautiful thread.

Very well said,the care of our elders is something that I hold very close to my heart.Keep doing what you are doing because what you do for the people you see each day gives more than you will ever know.

[girl_dee]

Originally Posted by girl_dee

GREAT thread idea.

My calling in life has changed over the years. When i was young it was to survive, i had no time to waste worrying about my calling. i had to put food on the table, that was my only calling. i took many *jobs* hussling and bussling to make ends meet.

When i started my career in banking it didn't fulfill that need i have to help others. i started volunteering. i worked at a home for teenage pregnancy and mothers. i worked with hospice. i worked at the Ronald McDonald house, Childrens hospital. Especially on holidays.

i ended up in New England after Katrina and went to work for a group home withe head injured folks. THAT was awesome. i felt like i was getting paid to volunteer. i wanted to do more, so i went to massage school learning bodywork and was able to work on them, bringing them some comfort. i was in heaven. i was with an alcholic partner and my personal life was in such turmoil i left New England and my dream behind. That was hard. VERY hard.

Now i am in Canada doing what i love again, bodywork. The health challenged, sick, cancer stricken, MS , car accident victims are who i work on. i'm in heaven again. i'm selfish, i have a need to feel good about what i do and i feed that need by doing just that. i am now in a teacher certification course where i can pass down what i know about bodywork and hopefully inspire others to get out there and touch someone!

My other calling? photography i've had a camera in my hand since i can remember. Soon i will be going out there to capture events for people and hopefully have fun doing it.

Wow so much has changed since 2012!

Well i am not longer doing my passion of bodywork, as my hands have pretty much given out. It’s an occupational hazard among bodyworkers.

i’ve discovered a new passion, which is officiating weddings in the LGBT community. i love doing them all, but legally binding two people and hearing each love story has been something i’ve been enjoying for a few years now. i also love marrying heterosexual couples, but my heart is in our community

My goal is to do this full time one day. It may take years but i can do it!

[CherylNYC]

This is such an interesting moment for me to be reading this thread. I'm a professional sculptor/scenic artist, and I'm pretty good at it. People actually pay me by the hour to be an artist. What I do is fairly arcane, but there are many people who want to do what I do so badly that they actually will work for free, or nearly free, to try to break in. I'm well respected, and I'm at the top of my tiny, arcane field. I make a decent living as an artist in NYC. Is it my calling? Well, probably-maybe.

I get paid to make things that other people ask me to make. Hands for hire. I rarely make my own work anymore. I lost quite a few of my original pieces in Hurricane Sandy, including the largest, most recent piece that many thought was one of my finest sculptures. Most of my sculptures that weren't destroyed were damaged. Some heavily. I haven't made an effort to repair those old pieces. I haven't made anything new in awhile. A long while.

It's kind of messing with my identity but what I really want to do when I leave work after 10 intense hours of being a scenic artist/sculptor, is ride my motorcycle. No one is ever going to pay me to ride, and that might even ruin it for me, but it's what I love. I used to make more time to make and show my own sculptural work, but then I had some losses and now... well, I don't care much about art anymore. During my work day I care intensely that the thing I'm working on must be perfect and gorgeous. I'm infamous for my perfectionist drive on each and every thing I touch at work. Then I leave the building, put the key in the ignition, and I can barely remember what I was working on.

Not only do I love to ride my motorcycle, I love to enable others to ride as well. I teach skills in the parking lot. I used to instruct on the racetrack. Now I just spend all my money riding my bike at the track. Because it makes me happy. Once again, I'm not in it for the money. That's not why I teach. And it's certainly not why I'm doing the motorcycle activist/advocacy work that has consumed me for the last two months. This particular advocacy project has actually cost me money because I'm self financing all the costs, such as copying, for the work that I'm doing around a proposal the Governor has made which will affect all of us for as long as we live in NYC.

It seems I'm pretty good at this advocacy work, too. I have some supportive, activist friends who are helping me here and there, but if this works I will have changed things for the better for all of us, and I will have done it mostly by myself. There are those who assume that motorcycle rights advocacy is my calling, too. I've got the proverbial fire-in-the-belly now, but I know myself. I probably won't sustain it after this project draws to what I think and hope will be a successful conclusion. I'll want to move on to something else entirely for awhile.

Maybe I don't have a single calling. Maybe things call me for a moment, or a few months, or a few years, and then something else calls. Does it always have to be one calling?

[EnchantedNightDweller]

Teacher for at-risk kids. Somehow it was just meant to be. I resisted at first but then the kids stole my heart. I like to think I provide them with a stability they desperately need. I work at a school where they are surprised and thrilled to have teachers return from winter break. Teachers don't stay here. It's easier to go work in the suburbs where students don't face challenges and obstacles that keep them from learning. You don't have to work as hard. Success comes easily. But I'm not going to be one of the ones that leaves. I want to see them come back to visit when they are in middle school and high school. Maybe even when they bring their own kids to school. 😊

[girl_dee]

Originally Posted by CherylNYC

Maybe I don't have a single calling. Maybe things call me for a moment, or a few months, or a few years, and then something else calls. Does it always have to be one calling?

i sure hope not, because i’ve had many. i think there is a big difference between a calling and a whim.

when i do shift gears, i do lots of research and try to get a realistic idea of whether it’s feasible. If so, i jump. When i don’t love it anymore, i move on.

i’ve loved being a Jane of many trades. People have told me i lack stability in sticking to anything for a long time, but for me, i love having new blood in my system when it comes to what i do.

[puddin']

i've had many diff'rent callings over the years. yet i always come back to mental health work, specifically working with folks in residential settings. (crazy is as crazy does i reckon! lol)