Beautiful, Vicki, and so relevant, as ever. I loved the part about remembering what interested you as a child. My major interests were fully formed by the time I was 13, I just didn't have names for them and no one else noticed. But they've all borne fruit, incidentally, along the way.
Yes, those seeds are in us from a young age! What a shame that often noone notices or encourages us to cultivate them..... Thanks for sharing your experiences Deborah 🙏
For me following my own healing journey and offering what I needed to do to help myself grow beyond survival to others seems to be something like purpose. It is easy to overlook as there is an ongoing parallel process of learning and growing and transforming wounds into gifts which doesn't always feel meaning- or purposeful, but painful and arduous with no end in sight. It doesn't feel like success because it is not glamourous and doesn't earn me any medals or awards, but most of the time, it feels worthwhile, and I can see and feel the impact and difference it has on other peoples lives, which is rewarding. I appreciated your reminder that we may not earn the reward or see the results during our lifetime, with the example of Vincent van Gogh. I did not know that about him.
Thanks Ingrid, your comments resonate very much with me. My dharma seems to be a similar process of pursuing my own healing and growth and sharing the fruits of that with others. Easy to underestimate the ripple effects that might have on the world around us, but ultimately such important work ❤
I am very down to earth and don't use all the fancy words you do, but I agree it is very difficult for some of us (certainly me) to find out what we want to do in life. You feel it should be obvious but for some of us, it just isn't. I fell into doing social research as it was something I could do part-time with a baby (this was before working professional mothers were the norm) and kept on doing it as it fit in with my life. After loads of years (and a PhD collected along the way), I realised I was quite good at it and had more experience than most (social research tended to be something people did while hoping to get into academia, so many people moved on).
I then had a major argument with the head of my research institute and went to work freelance. Again, something I fell into – and it was very scary at first – but I thrived, because I discovered I had a very entrepreneurial bent. And it was so much fun. But all a bit accidental.
Writing for Substack in my 80s is similar. Just decided to try – and am enjoying the result.
Young people should be taught that it is OK not to know and to learn along the way. It's a great ride.
Thanks for sharing a bit of your story Ann. I agree, there's so much pressure on young people to have a 'career plan' instead of just encouraging them to find out organically who they are and what's their path in life. When I see young people in therapy grappling with this, I always tell them I've never had a plan, but I've had a very rich and interesting career path just by continuing to follow the next thing that caught my interest 😊
So beautiful, Vicki. Something that struck me when reading this is that remembering or discovering what we truly love and love to do is one of the essential components of long-term addiction recovery and sobriety (at least for me). How wonderful knowing that people like you are out in the world, sitting alongside others in their darkest times.
Thank you Dana, and yes, remembering or discovering what we love to do is probably a vital piece of healing for all of us. It saddens me that so many people believe that life, and particularly work, is a daily grind they have to endure. I do believe when we're in true alignment with our purpose that it gives us energy and nourishes us rather than taking it away. And that our whole being is healthier as a result
Beautiful, Vicki, and so relevant, as ever. I loved the part about remembering what interested you as a child. My major interests were fully formed by the time I was 13, I just didn't have names for them and no one else noticed. But they've all borne fruit, incidentally, along the way.
Yes, those seeds are in us from a young age! What a shame that often noone notices or encourages us to cultivate them..... Thanks for sharing your experiences Deborah 🙏
Absolutely love this... I use the idea of threads with my coaching clients... it’s amazing to see what weaves together through our lives...
Oh thank you Alana. Yes it's such useful imagery 😊
For me following my own healing journey and offering what I needed to do to help myself grow beyond survival to others seems to be something like purpose. It is easy to overlook as there is an ongoing parallel process of learning and growing and transforming wounds into gifts which doesn't always feel meaning- or purposeful, but painful and arduous with no end in sight. It doesn't feel like success because it is not glamourous and doesn't earn me any medals or awards, but most of the time, it feels worthwhile, and I can see and feel the impact and difference it has on other peoples lives, which is rewarding. I appreciated your reminder that we may not earn the reward or see the results during our lifetime, with the example of Vincent van Gogh. I did not know that about him.
Thanks Ingrid, your comments resonate very much with me. My dharma seems to be a similar process of pursuing my own healing and growth and sharing the fruits of that with others. Easy to underestimate the ripple effects that might have on the world around us, but ultimately such important work ❤
I am very down to earth and don't use all the fancy words you do, but I agree it is very difficult for some of us (certainly me) to find out what we want to do in life. You feel it should be obvious but for some of us, it just isn't. I fell into doing social research as it was something I could do part-time with a baby (this was before working professional mothers were the norm) and kept on doing it as it fit in with my life. After loads of years (and a PhD collected along the way), I realised I was quite good at it and had more experience than most (social research tended to be something people did while hoping to get into academia, so many people moved on).
I then had a major argument with the head of my research institute and went to work freelance. Again, something I fell into – and it was very scary at first – but I thrived, because I discovered I had a very entrepreneurial bent. And it was so much fun. But all a bit accidental.
Writing for Substack in my 80s is similar. Just decided to try – and am enjoying the result.
Young people should be taught that it is OK not to know and to learn along the way. It's a great ride.
Thanks for sharing a bit of your story Ann. I agree, there's so much pressure on young people to have a 'career plan' instead of just encouraging them to find out organically who they are and what's their path in life. When I see young people in therapy grappling with this, I always tell them I've never had a plan, but I've had a very rich and interesting career path just by continuing to follow the next thing that caught my interest 😊
So beautiful, Vicki. Something that struck me when reading this is that remembering or discovering what we truly love and love to do is one of the essential components of long-term addiction recovery and sobriety (at least for me). How wonderful knowing that people like you are out in the world, sitting alongside others in their darkest times.
Thank you Dana, and yes, remembering or discovering what we love to do is probably a vital piece of healing for all of us. It saddens me that so many people believe that life, and particularly work, is a daily grind they have to endure. I do believe when we're in true alignment with our purpose that it gives us energy and nourishes us rather than taking it away. And that our whole being is healthier as a result