When launching my coaching practice, I thought long and hard about the concept of a true calling. I wanted to ensure that the name I gave my business would imply work (or play, as those of us who have found our groove may call it), but would also stretch beyond employment.
In other words, I didn’t believe that a calling should be exclusive to the work that others pay you for. I knew that it could also be something you volunteer to do, a hobby, or parenthood. To be honest, though, I believed parenthood fell outside the scope of my work. For what guidance could assist a person who’d discovered that their true calling entailed staying home, with no traditional career path in sight? Now that I’ve had a crash course in early parenthood – what I call “trial by crier” – I understand that it can be a true calling. I’ve always held that an individual can have many true callings throughout her lifetime, but now I understand that those callings can coexist at the same time. Having launched back into coaching part time after full-time mommy immersion, I can confirm that my vocation brings me to life in all the ways I’ve known it to. Just the promise of facilitating another person’s self discovery, recognition and transformation brings me to life intellectually and spiritually, hinting that this is the gift I was born to provide to the world in this lifetime. How amazing, then, to realize that this new and co-occurring career of parenthood perks up different parts of my being: a deep sense of what is right for me and for my child, a will to follow and share my inner guidance, and a sense of being firmly grounded in my body, shaking me loose from my head. How amazing, now, to discover that I have not one true calling, but two. And that I can continue to recognize, acquire and integrate additional callings as they appear throughout this journey. As can you, my fellow travelers. As can you. |