In this article, we are approaching the dimension of vocation. In Latin, the word vocationem literally means “a being called”. It comes from the Latin vox, meaning voice. It implies that you are being called to a particular state or course of action. This voice lives inside us. It is less about finding your “purpose” outside of yourself and more about having it revealed from you to yourself, once you practice looking within. We all carry a deep intention in our hearts. We shall believe in the importance of listening to it and to the spiritual call of our hearts in order to manifest our positive qualities and offer our personal gifts to the world, contributing then to the common good.
We all can have multiple vocations in life. For example, being a parent, a teacher, a caregiver, etc. All of us are involved with a certain kind of “occupation”, or a specific “work” or “life mission”. This commitment may represent a big part of where and how we spend most of our days and time. However, despite this, have you ever stopped and reflected about how you had ended up doing what you do? Did you have the opportunity to choose what your “occupation” would be? Even your “profession”? Were you influenced somehow to make your decisions? Did you have the maturity and self-knowledge to align your “occupation” with your different needs (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual)? Did you have to make a choice to consider your environment, context and people you love? Did you think about the importance of what you do and the impact of it to yourself, to others and to nature? Did you make a conscious choice? Are you making conscious choices right now about your vocation? Is what you do still reflecting who you are and what you want to leave as a legacy to the world?
Now, this next paragraph is crucial if you really want to connect to your higher intention and to your inner calling, which is your vocation. You don’t need to drop everything you are doing, everything that you built during these few last year, and start a new career or a new job to follow your intuition and to generate a positive impact. You can start by being your inner essence inside your current life and activities. Better than that, you must start exactly there. Your whole life is a web of intertwined roles and assignments. You cannot drop everything at once. And even if you do, you will be just starting something new based on all your old patterns, beliefs, mindset and way of thinking and doing things. In a matter of a few years or even months, you’ll be feeling similar to what you were before dropping everything.
This is because you will be searching outward what you should be looking inward. Your true vocation lives inside of you, not somewhere out there to be found. You can bring your true inner calling and your essence to any occupation, relationship and profession. Our vocation is not about what we do, but how we do what we do. Our evolution is a journey, not a task.
So if we feel this calling inside us, what should we do? First, life might have brought you to different paths and you are committed today to your current “occupation”. The first step is to courageously look within and find the answers of all those questions above. To look at how you do your current occupation, and feel if it aligns to whom you are and who you want to become, that is, who you truly are. Then reflect on how you can live and express your gifts, strengths and positive human qualities in doing what you do now. Martin Luther King reminds us of the idea that anyone can, motivated by one’s higher intentions, do good in any ordinary situation. Every person is capable of having a “vocation”. You just need to listen to it.
We understand there are several difficulties in actualizing a sense of vocation under our current conditions of work and society. You may find yourself in need of what you do for survival conditions, for a safe paycheck and for many other specific reasons that only you know. However, our invitation for you is that you commit to live a meaningful livelihood where: we live mindful of our impact; committing to no harm to self, others and nature; nourishing understanding and compassion; listening to our soul call and manifesting our vocation; doing good where we are with what we have, and have the certainty to try new ways, if that feels necessary.
And in this journey, it is paramount to remember two key points. First, for us to become impactful, happy, or whole we don’t have to become someone else. Let go of the wish to be and live someone else’s life, and remember that our own vocations—not somebody else’s—are what will finally lead us to fulfilment. Within our soul are all the directions we’ll ever need to unveil. Diversity in our world is absolutely necessary. Our vocation, aspirations, intentions, strengths, gifts are unique to us. And we need each and everyone of us to support the building up of the community and planet we need for our collective evolution.
Secondly, our mindset is powerful! If you are feeling stuck in an unsatisfying “occupation” that you cannot bear, experiment changing your outlook, that is, your point of view or general attitude to life. Challenge yourself to approach your current occupation with a different outlook, and you may find yourself imbued with a new sense of meaning, and even purpose. Every place, opportunity and context can be an invitation to practice and manifest our best selves. Besides, as highlighted above, you can still have in life many occupations or vocations at the same time, and all of them might be a chance to put our deeper intentions in action.
So vocation, our inner calling to be who we truly are, can be perfectly connected to the famous Japanese concept “Ikigai”, or “a reason for being”. Iki refers to “life” and Kai to “the realization of what one expects and hopes for”. This concept reinforces the idea that we can uncover our “personal calling” or “vocation” by aligning our gifts and aspirations with what we see as the deepest needs of the world. To do that, we can ask ourselves:
1. Have I faced (or am I facing now) the challenge of discerning my inner calling?
2. If I have discerned such a calling in the past, how did I go about it?
3. If the concept of multiple callings resonates with me, how have I balanced my callings in life?
4. What role models have mattered most to me? What things made them successful? How do I see and perceive success?
5. What are my needs and how can I be successful in attending them?
6. What do I love doing? What are my hobbies? What am I doing in my free time?
7. What am I good at? Where do my strengths lie? What are my hidden talents, gifts?
8. What kinds of opportunities offer the best chance for me to express my gifts? What kinds of opportunities would make this difficult?
9. What does the world need? What would be the one thing that I would like to change? What can I do to make this world a better place? To whom in my life can I serve as an effective role model and mentor?
10. What can I get paid for? What jobs or positions spark my interest?
11. What inside and outside of myself is creating the conditions that hinders me from unveiling my vocation and inner call? What beliefs, emotions, fears, thoughts, context, etc.?
These are profound and intricate questions. They cover many aspects of our lives and are not simple to answer. We just need to start it, then everything unfolds naturally. Our Ikigai is a living and evolving thing. As we transcend ourselves, our Ikigai shifts as well, since what once felt aligned might not feel adequate anymore, considering where we are in life now. We encourage you to engage further in these reflections and to ask yourself what practices and lifestyles can support your path. Realizing, being aware and consciously taking this journey every day completely changed our lives. And the lives of so many incredible people that we had the honor to help, mentor, experience, work and co-create with. If this message touched your heart, we invite you to set the intention to know more about everything we do together at We.Flow, and join us on this journey of evolving and positively contributing to the world.
Together, we will expand our awareness about what really moves and guides us. Prepare yourself to explore the meaning of our current activities, by connecting your vision of success, a discernment about what is truly your and what comes from others, your mindset, your personality and your ongoing needs. Then we will learn to connect with what is integrally ours, and therefore aligned to the whole that surrounds us, to be able to consciously transcend our choices and attitudes, finally aligning our current activities to our own inner vocation, generating positive impacts to humanity. We also invite you to read our other 4 articles related to this breathtaking journey of self-evolution and positive impact.
Flow with us, together, for a better world !!!
