Think about this. You get the smooth, creamy, sweet morsel of what you crave to satisfy your immediate need for comfort and happiness, and the nurturing, nutrient packed energy you require for ultimate health and vitality. It’s the perfect combination of want and need, solving both the now desire and the long term goal.
This year I will be in the business of serving chocolate covered vegetables. I want to give you the thing you want now (for me it would be dark chocolate salted caramel, in case you were wondering), to realize the dreams and desires you have for your life, and the tools and resources (dark leafy greens) you will need to make that happen over the long haul. You need both. As much as you think chocolate might sustain you, you are fooling yourself if you think it will carry you through the marathon that is your soul’s calling.
“When you are answering the call of your soul, things flow easily.” Torrie Pattillo. I grew up thinking that hard work was going to be the path to my dreams. I spent many years working really hard, paying my dues with full time hours as a physical therapist while I raised two kids and tried to hold my family and life together. With a lot of hard work, I had it all, and I was miserable and physically burned out.
One day I read about the idea that when you are answering the call of your soul, things will feel easy. I am not sure I really believed it, but I really loved the idea that life could be easy, especially the idea that when I was doing what I was meant to do, the thing that was my purpose, it would flow with grace and ease. That made sense to me, even though the messages from my outside world said the opposite.
I think that the luckiest thing about my life so far is that I have always been pulled to listen to the messages of my body and soul, even though the external messages have contradicted the internal ones. By listening to the messages I get from within, I have been able to follow a new path of “work” that lights me up like no other. That work is much like chocolate covered vegetables; it has the taste of pure, immediate satisfaction with the nurturing power to sustain me, inspire me and keep me moving toward my bigger dreams.
When you are answering the call of your soul, it doesn’t feel like work, and you will automatically attract the success and abundance you desire, without trying too hard. If some people were to read that last line it would trigger a several hour conversation (argument) about how life is hard and I am fooling myself if I think my “hobby” can support me. Ugh. The “hard” part in all this is the consistent fight I have had to maintain in support of my dreams, and the resistance I get from people who think they know what is right for me.
So the marathon of your soul’s calling that I am talking about above is the discipline of awareness, endurance and indomitable spirit you will need to do this kind of life. A marathon like this is hard, but “hard” has a different quality than the kind you suffer through because you have to/should/are supposed to/it is the right way to do things. When you flow inside of your soul’s calling you get the idea that you are meant to be there, despite the challenges you face. In fact you begin to see the challenges as grand opportunities that invite you to leap to the next level of life you desire. Hard becomes interesting. Difficult becomes challenging. Depressing becomes an invitation to go deeper. A crappy day becomes moments that were meant to be. Everything becomes okay, even the hard stuff.
I used to stress big time if I knew I was going to be late for something. The feeling inside my body when I knew I was going to be late was like a weird combination of anxiety, guilt and chest tightness. The message I heard was “You are a bad girl.” I would drive to my appointment, fists clenched around the steering wheel, body rigid with tightness, over something totally out of my control.
I am still a very punctual person but now when something changes my schedule and I find myself running late (still rare) I relax, breathe and see the possibility in the unfolding scenario. Because I believe in the magic of the flow and ease of my life, I can rest into what unfolds, even if it means I will be late. Wow, what a relief, for my mind, and especially my body. There have been times that I have been granted with the knowledge after a scenario like this, that by being late, I avoided something that would have been a much bigger bummer. It only took a few times for me to realize that it really is all good. All of it. Even when I can’t imagine in the moment why or how the situation is serving me, I now know that it is. Without a doubt.
How do you get into the flow, not only for the day to day mundane moments of your life, but also be able to find your bigger purpose and answer your soul’s calling? Chocolate covered vegetables. You need clarity around what gives you the smooth, sweet, creamy morsels of what you desire, and the nurturing, nutrient packed resources of what you need to sustain you on your journey.
I see the chocolate as what you want for your life, what makes you happy, what lights you up, what you would do for “work” even if you didn’t get paid. I see the veggies as the tools and resources you will use to live the kind of life that allows you to eat your chocolate every day and realize the success and abundance that comes from that kind of energy and passion. The veggies solve the bigger, core problem of the long term goal you have. You need both the desire and the tools. But neither will help you if you don’t eat (ACTION). Action always trumps planning.
Knowing what makes you happy isn’t the same as doing what makes you happy. The gap between where you are and where you want to be can seem like a chasm so deep and wide that you lose hope and become paralyzed. Inside of that dark, deep chasm lies the fear that tries to keep you from the life you ache for. And the fear is just a thought in your mind. How can we take action in the face of that fear? That is the million dollar question. You can stare at all the chocolate covered vegetables in the world, but if you are terrified of eating them, and let that fear prevent you from eating, you’ll never benefit from their gifts.
In 2015 we are going to take a journey together into the chasm and we are going to eat well. We are going to get clear about what we want and aware of what we need to get there. We are going to bring our flashlights (big fucking torches) and our indomitable spirits and I will inspire you with a ton of creative recipes for chocolate covered vegetables. We are going to go there together, help each other shine our light, and collaborate on the most important journey of our lives by listening closely when our souls speak. We’ll be brave together, support each other, celebrate every victory and honor the opportunity of every dark corner. The magic starts as soon as you take a bite.
If you are ready to take a journey with me, please stay tuned for my first When Your Soul Speaks, Healing Moves for 2015 workshop on March 15, 2015 in Bethesda, Maryland. Details and formal registration opens in the end of January, but you can get your name on the pre-register wait list and I will email you all the details when they are available. This epic, full day workshop will integrate mind body and soul and leave you nourished and inspired to transform your life (Chocolate). The tools you will learn (Vegetables) from my expert panel of local healers will excite you and motivate your inner goddess/warrior to take some action doing the things that light you up and bring you closer to your purpose.
Don’t miss this day of creative healing and connection! Email me at bodyworkspt@comcast.net
