Tag: writing

On Voice and Vocation

IMG_5837I’m fascinated by voice, by the way we find our voices, speaking up and giving voice to our ideas, opinions and emotions. I’m also interested in the ways in which we lose our voices, by the ways we silence ourselves — or find ourselves silenced.

For me, it’s personal. I haven’t had a voice in 2 1/2 years. And it’s the second time I’ve lost my voice for a long period of time. Clearly the Universe is trying to tell me something!

A couple of days ago, I came across a new idea: the connection between voice and vocation (or calling). Voice comes from the Latin word vox, which is related to another Latin word, vocare, to call. The word vocation, or calling, comes from vocare.

This was a revelation for me, as another one of my preoccupations is with purpose, and what it is we’re meant to be doing with our lives. While I love my work (in online course development), I’ve felt for a long time as though I’m meant to be doing something more. And it’s interesting to me that my voice loss has required that I slow down at work, and has also prevented me from returning to teaching, which I always expected to do.

So this whole voice and vocation connection has me following new pathways of inquiry. I’m asking myself:

What do I feel called to do?

How can I give voice to my purpose?

What callings am I not giving voice to? 

These are questions, I suspect, that we might all consider.

I invite you to give voice to your musings below.

Always Begin Again

What lights me up? What am I longing for?

cropped-img_6981.jpgI’ve been feeling lost for a while now, without direction. After publishing my first book last December, I’ve been waiting for creative inspiration. I’ve been journalling and taking photographs and editing some of my poetry; I spent time this summer at a writing workshop on Cortes Island, and even started writing a new book. But none of these creative practices have really been lighting me up.

And I want to feel lit up.

Reading Rebecca Campbell, I was reminded of this truth: “We follow our calling by following what lights us up.”

What lights me up? What am I longing for?

When I asked myself these questions, I realized I was feeling the pull to return to blogging. I’ve missed the creativity and the connection.

But I also felt like I’d outgrown my old blog.

Why not begin again?

Yes. Why not? Beginning again is central to my meditation practice. Why not bring it to my creative practices too? And why not begin anew with a space that reflects who I am now?

I’ve been on a journey for years now to live a more wholehearted, creative and awake life. I still spend more time feeling distracted and lost than on the right path.

But I’m learning to trust in the journey.

This is what I want to write about now. This feels like the next step for me on my journey.