The Hit List - The calling

What is a calling?

I don’t have all the answers but this is what I’ve found to be true.

It’s not necessarily your work or your life work although it often can be (and most of us think of it like that anyways). Your calling can be a mission that has zero money involved, it can be a project, a way of life, a creative endeavor, or a thing you do that you can’t really explain why you do it – you are just compelled to do it.

A calling isn’t something you chase…it chases you.

Which means it nags you, tugs at your sleeve, haunts your dreams at night and lingers in your thoughts, even if you don’t want it to. Even if you try to sabotage it, it keeps on coming and coming and coming…until you have to answer that call.

If you are chasing after it, especially because you assume it will lead to renown, glory, or big bucks, then it’s not a calling. It may be a passion but it’s not the same.

Because a calling rarely has a motive.

It just is.

Your calling may arrive early in life. Or it may come late. But when it comes, there will be no denying it.

You’ll have to answer it.

You just have to.

To shun your calling is to deny who you are. Because it’s going to chase you down no matter how hard you protest. So answer it. Give in. Dive in. Move through the twists and turns and challenges (callings always come with a fair amount of tests). Stay with it (you may not have a choice in the matter) and see where it leads you.

Answer the call.

I love this quote about callings:

“But beware of this about callings: they may not lead us where we intended to go or even where we want to go. If we choose to follow, we may have to be willing to let go of the life we already planned and accept whatever is waiting for us. And if the calling is true, though we may not have gone where we intended, we will surely end up where we need to be.” ~ Steve Goodier

Other stuff:

Great post over at Rebelle Society: You can almost always right a wrong.

Compelling read: Meet the Ungers.

I’m fascinated with the Kingfisher Castle. Would love to see the inside of this!

I’ve been saying this forever: the unhealthy truth behind “wellness” and “clean eating.”

This post by Ronan Farrow is a must read: My Father, Woody Allen, and the Danger of Questions Unasked.

She asked in a dream: what is the meaning of the number six? A great read from the always wise Paige Zaferiou.

Maryland just made birth control and Plan B free.

Erin Boyle talks about the importance of tidying up.

Irony: a woman who ran a chi-chi raw vegan restaurant gets caught by police when she orders a cheese pizza from Dominos.

I love ByRegina: How to not get caught into the six-figure blogger suck in.

Inside the NY club scene that launched Madonna.

A photo essay on lives ruined by meth in Kentucky.

This guy talks about what he does before 8AM. (I’m always fascinated with how other people start their day.)

Gwyneth Paltrow has expensive taste in sex toys. Wonder if she used all this stuff?

From North Star Muse: Five reasons not to resist a psychic reading.

I’m really into mantras. Elle North has 5 powerful mantras that you might want to check out.

Another good reason to shop at Target.

Whatta man whatta might fine man: I adore Rob Zombie. Not just because I find him physically hot – but because he stands up against trolls for Babymetal!

How to end the “mean girl” culture.

Bon Jovi is doing good things in the world.

What is it like to be a female mule serving time in prison?

Lissa Rankin wrote a great book on finding your calling.

Books about tidying up clutter my home. LOL I want this one: Simple Matters – Living with Less and Ending Up with More.

I’m obsessed with packing. These compression packing cubes from Flight 001 are adorable and genius.

This charging station has room for a lot of gadgets.

The Tarot Coloring Book is heading to design and print now. Gulp.

Fan of the Lenormand? Check out Ryan Edward’s Maybe Lenormand.

What I’m Grateful For:

Finding my calling early in life

Knowing the difference between a calling and a whim