Aware of the sin of assumption and transgression not being in my make up, let me break down what my understanding of a calling is so we may move in unison.
- That sole purpose that God placed you here on earth to fulfill.
- God's personal, individual invitation to carry out the unique task he has for you.
- That which gives you a sense of purpose intrinsically.
- That need, that hunger, that longing that urges one's life toward greater clarity of meaning and purpose.
- That which rewards you with a sense of satisfaction not quantifiable in any terms, whether or not it satisfies your financial ego.
One may easily confuse talent for a calling, and sure enough they are close and could be as a result of similar conditions, but a calling way far supersedes talent. One thing I know for sure though, is you'll never live to know how far you could kick a golf ball if you've never had the chance to kick one, or what sort of a millionaire you would have been had you learnt to kick a football at age two, but that does not determine where your calling lies. Speaking of kicking balls, I learnt to kick one at age three, and am not talking about one made out of paper, but of the same material as the one you watch men (and lately women) kicking on your TV. screens every weekend, but far from what you would expect, I am not a millionaire footballer, neither am I one anyway - not due to lack of talent at it (I was pretty good by the way), but somehow, mine calling wasn't in that line, and things turned out so as to keep that chase elusive to date, but all was not lost, to that end, I am a great sports fan...period!
A lot more other things have come and gone, as far as talent and calling development go, but one that hits me hard to date on how it never came to be, is art. How I never ended up in an art gallery somewhere in Italy, only God can answer. As early as 5th grade, I was this kid with the magic hand, and 'magnetic' brain, and not just for passing exams - as proof, the definition of art to date is as fresh as the spelling of my first name - "art is a visual language through which an artist communicates to the general public" - which I still believe is an unbeatable definition, and some of my old graphic designs still hang somewhere on my bedroom wall, all that, testament to how well I knew my thing.
I'm sure you too are taken aback as to how I came to find myself here, far from the realms of art, when all expectations and all fairness point to the creme' de la creme' an artist I should be. In fact, to show you how far I am from the realms of art, share this experience with me;
It's about 2300hrs, and I'm glued to my favorite informative station - CNN, and a feature of a UK-based artist comes up. Her search for her calling has taken her there from her motherland - Kenya, and she prides herself in what she does, having tried a lot more other things, that only left her devoid of intrinsic gratification. Having a history of art, I sit back to savor the best there is in art. A sample of her best work is displayed, and as Sesay, the reporter on call notes, her work almost pips Da Vinci's The Mona Lisa, and could easily make him an envious man. At this point, its important to let you know that my sight is perfectly fine, and has never been under any influence! I keep looking and looking, as if searching for a particular piece, but I somehow can't see it from Sesay's point - maybe my TV has a problem. Don't get me wrong though, I fully appreciate the artist she is, and the much effort she puts into her work, but as far as mine eyes can judge, I don't seem to identify the one piece that can get me to confess what beautiful art she does (it's not always I don't identify the beauty in an art piece though)!
Questions linger in my mind as to what is wrong with my visualization as not to recognize the 'beautiful' peaces, she does, but the calling concept seems to solve this. Some people surely do amazing art pieces to die for, and others can appreciate the beauty in the art, whereas others have no idea what beauty means in an art piece, but as an artist, if doing art surely satisfies you and brings into you an elation like nothing else does, then that could as well be your calling, all you need to do is art, and some more of it!
In the same manner, each one of us has got theirs - 'a calling',and its our responsibility and within our powers to identify it and put it into full use - serve with it - service to others is the rent we pay for our stay here on earth. Some go through a lifetime before they discover theirs, others discover theirs in their mid-life session, and yet others realize what theirs is in their early stages of life. In whatever stage of life you are at, its never too late to discover your calling as long as you seek to find it, for the true source of it is planted within us by the creator.
"The great blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach, but we shut our eyes, and like people in the dark, we fall foul upon the very thing we search for, without finding it." - Seneca
