Last week I was driving home after teaching a group fitness class when I heard a voice clearly say:
“You are already doing the work you want to do.”
I’m not inclined to claim that I have an audible connection to the divine, and I’ll admit my inner critic tends to be loud and disarming. Still, something about this voice felt different, somehow both of me and beyond me at the same time.
Whatever the source, sacred or otherwise, those words have stuck with me these past few days. I’ve intentionally kept them at the forefront of my mind–repeating them to myself outloud, writing them down, and sharing them with friends.
They remind me that the work is now.
Like for many people, my professional path hasn’t been very linear. The unpredictability makes it feel more like a rollercoaster than a steady uphill climb. The unexpected twists and turns can be exciting and thrilling, but they can also be rattling, even jarring. I’ve spent most of the ride with my eyes tightly shut and my fingers clutching the shoulder restraints. I’ve endured, but I haven’t always enjoyed.
In my mind I figure somehow this jumbled up, seemingly disjointed journey will eventually smooth out and I will have arrived somewhere that makes sense of all those loops and free falls. Then I’ll be able to see how all of these disparate pieces actually fit together neatly in an easy-to-describe package. This is fantasy thinking, and it’s preventing me from experiencing the now.
The voice I heard that day was both reassuring and challenging.
You’ve already arrived.
The challenge was could I now show up fully for the work at hand? Though I don’t know what the next year or two might bring, what I have right now is good. Really good.
I’ve since made it a habit to turn off the radio when I’m in the car. The silence of that space allows me to express gratitude–to myself, to God, to the universe–for having work that gives me purpose and joy. And, I’m keeping my ears open because you never know when those next words of wisdom may come.