Will you answer your calling?

Comfort of the familiar or call to adventure?

Frederick Buechner once said that your calling in life is when your greatest joy meets the world’s deepest need.  For example, maybe someone had a loved one in Hospice in the past. Years go by and now there’s a still quiet voice inside encouraging that person to volunteer with them. There’s a great need for compassionate end of life care. This person answers the call and gets joy out of helping others.

When we leave our comfort zone to pursue something unfamiliar, fear can easily settle in. Some may attempt to drown out that quiet voice that calls us to do something bigger. The pursuit of money is one way people do this and the many faces of addiction are another. It often can take something dramatic in our lives to refocus our attention to it.  This is what the story of Jonah being swallowed by the “great fish” is about. Jonah refuses his call and spends three days in the belly of the whale. He is then vomited out three days later, being reborn to his purpose.

Mythology can teach us about our calling today. These stories have a common theme: The hero is called to obtain something that will be used to help others. We are on the same journey. Monsters of the past are the injustices of today; swords, acts of compassion. Will we answer the call of our lives or not?  Our answer to that question determines the type of person we choose to be. 

If you’re interested in how I represent these themes in my work, you can view the photography slideshow,  Male Nude: Hero Myth of the Masculine Journey here. You can follow us on Google + by clicking the follow link on the upper right hand side.  Thanks for reading!