A Spiritual Experience at Work |
No matter what your job is or no matter how much you like or dislike it, you have the opportunity to turn it into a spiritual experience. St. Francis gives us some guidance about how to do this when he said:
“Make me a channel of your peace.”
If we can apply this ideal to our jobs, then our day at work can become a form of spiritual devotion. While prayer and meditation are powerful and effective, in order for us to reach our full potential as human beings, it may be helpful to begin to see all aspects of our life, including our jobs, as an opportunity to have a spiritual experience.
For example, how many times have you ever noticed your coworkers stressed out, angry or in the need of some extra help. What if you approached your colleagues from a mindset of peace and service by giving them the extra help or simply asking them if you can get them a cup of coffee? Everyday there is an opportunity to emote love and peace to our coworkers. These simple acts of kindness do not go unnoticed and their effects are both practical and profound.
The interesting paradox is that by approaching work with a mindset of peace, service and giving to others, the more we will receive on both a spiritual and objective level. For instance, your coworkers will begin to notice that you are a source of peace for them throughout the day and be that much more inclined to help you in return when the time comes, or give you more responsibility and think of you when it is time for a promotion. Additionally, people are more effective workers, have increased creative thinking skills, and increase their overall productivity when they are experiencing peace, love or joy.
By recontextualizing your job as a form of spiritual devotion, the pressure that you may feel throughout the day begins to go away because you are focused on serving others or some higher purpose instead of seeking some end result or gain for yourself. This practice can actually become a form of meditation if we ask God or our Spirit to take over for us throughout the work day. For example, instead of over-thinking every little detail about how to get the job done, we can simply allow our Spirit to make the decisions throughout the day for us by trusting our inner guidance and intuition.
It is easy at times to separate our spiritual and work life. However, if we can begin to view our job as an opportunity for personal, emotional and spiritual growth, then the job can become an authentic spiritual experience.
Why You Gotta Follow Your Passion
in a Flat World |
In The World Is Flat, Best-Selling Author, Thomas Friedman explains that the world is flattening because globalization and lightning swift advances in technology and communications connect people from all across the globe as never before - creating a global market place for labor, services, products and employees. In this flat world people from all socio-economic backgrounds are competing for jobs with other people from all over the globe. For example even professions such as accountants, attorneys and radiologists are now losing their jobs because people from other countries can do those same jobs more efficiently and at a lower cost. In order to be successful and thrive in this new flat world, a person has gotta follow their passion!
The only people who are not in danger of losing their jobs in a flat world are the untouchables. Friedman defines the untouchables as employees who cannot be replaced because they bring an intangible quality to the market that cannot be replicated or outsourced by someone else who can do the same job better or for a lower wage. When we are following our passions we are doing what we love and expressing that intangible and untouchable part of ourselves. This unique expression of the sacred part of ourself can never be outsourced to someone else who can do the same job at a lower wage or automated by some machine or a computer.
This is why following your passion is absolutely essential and even a financial necessity at times in todays global market place. Freidman recognizes this when he writes, “When the world is flat, curiosity and passion for a job, for success, for a subject area or even a hobby are so much more important. . . . That innocent passion for a certain job, without knowing the salary or the working hours or the preparation required, is what you need to get back in touch with. It's that childlike feeling of, ‘I want to do that because I want to do that-and I don't have to explain why,’ that we all need to rediscover.”
We can learn how to turn ours passions into our career by cultivating and developing our right-brain capabilities. For example, Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age, explains:
“The left hemisphere handles sequence, literalness, and analysis. The right hemisphere, meanwhile, takes care of context, emotional expression, and synthesis. . . . Until recently, the abilities that led to success in school, work, and business were characteristic of the left hemisphere. They were the sorts of linear, logical, analytical talents measured by SATs and deployed by CPA’s. Today, those capabilities are still necessary. But they’re no longer sufficient. In a world upended by outsourcing, deluged with data, and choked with choices, the abilities that matter most are now closer in spirit to the specialties of the right hemisphere-artistry, empathy, seeing the big picture, and pursuing the Transcendent. . . ”
Pink concludes, “When you hear your parents or your college graduation speaker telling you to “do what you love,” they are not giving you some syrupy pabulum. They are giving you a survival strategy.”
Of course, Friedman and Pink’s contention that following your passion is a necessity in today’s new flat world may be incorrect. However, the alternative is to not follow your passions and to live a life wondering how things might have been. It seems at the very least, the intrinsic motivation and joy of the journey that following your passion provides one with makes it well worth the risk.
Stay
Hungry, Stay Foolish |
“I
had no idea what I wanted to do with my life . . . So I
decided to drop out (of college) and trust that it would
all work out OK.”
These
were the words of wisdom that Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer
and of Pixar Animation Studios, gave to the graduating class
of Stanford.
I
love Jobs’ commencement speech because his main message
is that you gotta do what you love and then everything else
will fall into place. His story is truly inspirational.
He dropped out of Reed College after 6 months so that he
could pursue his other interests and passions. For
example, since he dropped out of his normal classes, he
was able to sit in on classes he truly enjoyed such as a
calligraphy class. He had no practical reason to take
this calligraphy class. He was simply following his
interests and trusting his intuition that it would all work
out in the future.
Well,
ten years after dropping out of Reed College and sitting
in on a calligraphy class, he used what he learned in that
calligraphy class to help design the first Macintosh computer.
If he had not trusted his intuition and dropped out of college
to take that Calligraphy class, the Mac and most PCs used
today that copied that Mac, would not have multiple typefaces
or proportionally spaced fonts.
I
love this story because it is a phenomenal example of how
important it is for us to follow our passions, utilize our
intuition, and pursue what brings joy into our lives even
if following those passions appear to have no current practical
application or beneficial use. He later said in the
speech, “You have to trust in something – your
gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach
has NEVER let me down.” and finished the speech with
the advice “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”
This speech inspires me to trust my intuition and follow
my passions even if my passions seem foolish at the particular
moment.
What
brings excitement, joy, and fun into your life? What
are your passions? How do you feel when you use your
natural talents? What has your intuition been guiding
you to do? I believe my intuition is my connection
to my Spirit and God. I try to feed my Spirit by listening
and following my intuition whenever I get the chance.
Sometimes, it doesn't make much sense to me, but I just
put my trust in God and my Spirit that God will guide me
closer to my Divine Journey.
So, today I am going to take a chance and do one “foolish”
act simply because it brings fun, excitement, and joy to
my life. I’m going to put my trust in God that
my passions will lead me closer to my joy-filled Divine
Journey. Good luck on your Divine Journey and please
do not hesitate to contact me if I can ever be of any service
to you.
If
you know anyone who would enjoy reading this story, please
forward this email to them. Thanks.
Wishing
you a fun, joyful, and foolish day,
Matt Welsh
The
Miracle is Happening Right Now . . . |
I
recently saw two movies, Click and Just Like
Heaven, that inspired me to see that the miracle that
I have been waiting for is happening to me right now.
Coincidentally, I happened to be inclined to watch these
movies in the same weekend. Both films had a nearly
identical message that I needed to hear: Matt,
Start living and loving your life right now.
In Click, the main character played by Adam Sandler,
realizes that he has been "fast-forwarding"
his way through life because he is attached and only focused
on what future advances life may have in store for him.
In Just Like Heaven, the main character, played
by Reese Witherspoon, realizes that she too has been "saving
her life for later". As I watched I watched
these movies, I caught myself having a similar mindset as
the main characters. I was effectively "fast-forwarding"
my way through life and "saving my life for later".
After
watching these films, I began to realize that I had lost
sight of the miracles that are happening to me right now
and the importance of experiencing the beauty and joy of
the present moment. It is important to have high dreams
for the future and achieving those dreams is meaningful,
exciting and rewarding. However, true happiness and
success is found in the joy of the journey. It is
enjoying the adventure of life and waking up each day and
looking forward to the day that truly matters. Every
day and every moment is another opportunity to grow, learn
and evolve. These tiny shifts of consciousness and
awareness that we are capable of creating each day will
accumulate into giant leaps over time. So, take time
to celebrate the journey of growing just a little bit each
and every day.
There
is so much inherent beauty and joy in the present moment
surrounding us and even within us at this very moment.
Whether you call it God, the Creative Presence of Life,
the Benevolent Force of the Universe, there is a very real,
tangible, and palpable Energy and Spirit pulsating with
life, love, creation, and beauty within you in this present
moment.
God is all love, creation, power and joy. He created
your Spirit. Therefore, your Spirit alive in this
very moment must be pure joy, power, beauty and love.
The next time you look in the mirror, see the miracle of
love, beauty, and creation Radiating within you, right
now, in this present moment.
We
cannot do anything to change what has happened to us in
the past and we cannot always control what happens to us
in the future. However, we have complete control over
how we choose to experience this present moment and this
present moment is another opportunity to experience the
miraculous joy of life.
In
Peace and Passion,
Matt Welsh
