Recently I attended the Wisdom 2.0 conference and pushed my edge by sitting in on the Wisdom and Technology day-long Intensive. I found myself in a room full of tech-savvy developers, tech entrepreneurs, and Silicon Valley workers, etc. It definitely pushed my edge. Just keeping up with the language was a challenge. I debated with myself whether to change to another intensive where my comfort level would be much higher, such as the Wisdom and Women, or the Wisdom and Aging Intensives. Deciding to stay put turned out to be a great decision.
Buried in one panelist’s comments was the mention that affirmations are only effective when they are connected to one’s authentic purpose and deep values. This remark provided one of the takeaways from the intensive for me. It was a reminder that it would be useful to revisit my over-all life purpose and values. At various times in my life I’ve looked into what is my purpose and what do I most value in life but I haven’t questioned this in quite a while. Taking some time, I did some soul searching to see if I’m still on track and aligned with my higher purpose and to question whether or not my actions are expressing what I truly value.
All this reminded me of an interview that Michael Toms did with philosopher, Alan Clements (#3433). Michael brings up a quote from St. Frances of Assisi that Alan mentions in his work, “There are beautiful and wild forces within us.”
Alan expands on this thought using the analogy of an artist and understanding the palette from which we are working. He says,
[quote float=”none”]Climbing is the only cure for gravity.“You first identify the colors of your palette, so to speak. What are the colors of consciousness that you want to create and bring forth upon the canvas, the landscape, the inter-connectedness of life meeting itself? What do you want to bring to life; what are those qualities of consciousness? Dignity, authenticity, of course freedom, compassion, loving-kindness, authenticity, patience, determination, concentration, equanimity, stillness, rapture, and creativity… When you see these quotes about bringing forth these wild surges of beauty [it inspires you to] identify what are the colors you want to live through? What is your symphony, what is your palette, what are your colors, what is your music, what are your notes, what do you want to spin on your DJ of life?”[/quote]
By answering such questions as: What do you love to do, that you would do even if you don’t get paid for it? What do other people say you’re really good at? What is the one thing you want to experience, or do, or accomplish, before you die, so that on your last day on earth you feel satisfied and have no regrets in that area? I was pleased to find that my purpose and talents have come to a sort of coherence. The top three in my purpose are: sharing what I know with others, personal development/lifelong learning, and maintaining enthusiasm, wonder, and awe. My top talents turned out to be writing/storytelling, maintain enthusiasm, wonder, awe, and inspiring others. Seems like my contribution through New Dimensions Radio is a perfect vehicle for all those qualities.
I asked my colleagues about their purpose and Jolyn sent this poignant musing. “This question – what is your purpose – used to be a loaded one for me. It was one of those questions asked in all the workshops and seminars, and I had no clue what my purpose was or how to find out. So, rather than freeing me, the question made me feel inadequate. Then, one day I realized that my purpose was probably not something brand new that I was being asked to figure out, but it was probably something I was already doing. It then became clear – to me, if not to others – that my purpose is to ‘hold the space’ in situations and relationships. It’s an energetic thing, so not a very visible purpose or activity, and no one has ever commented on it as such. People have recognized it as what I do, when I have voiced it, but the closest anyone ever came to acknowledging it directly was in my previous job, when the owner described me as the ‘glue’ that held the staff together.”
Have you visited the colors of your palette recently? If not, I encourage you to go on the internet and find some questions that will help you focus on what you love and how it is being expressed in your life. You may be surprised. I was.
Justine Willis Toms
March 2014
