This is not your life

This is not your life. If it was, you would wake up every day hungry to start your day. And every night you would fall asleep satiated by your day’s work. Instead, I know that more than a few of you reading this feel a quiet discontent. It’s louder some days than others, and it’s always lingering, whispering, questioning you, “Does my work matter?”

This is a question I have been asking myself as long as I can remember. In every job I’ve held, across a multitude of disciplines, I’ve come back to this question. Does my work matter? 

And each time my soul has wailed in response that my current contribution pales in comparison to the work that I am called to do. I have wrestled with guilt for not stepping into my purpose for years. I have also wrestled with the immense fear of stepping away from the safety and security of whatever role I have found myself in, because I know doing my soul’s work will come at a great personal cost. 

Am I willing to sacrifice my security, my steady paycheck, the approval of friends and family to step into the unknown that only I can navigate? What if I fail? What if I don’t make any money? Doubt, fear, and insecurity whisper warnings as I lay my head down to sleep. 

But I’ve learned to listen to the song of my soul, and it is so much sweeter than any lie offered up by the world. I want more. I need so much more. This can’t be it. This can’t be my life. So I’m taking the leap. Because if I’m not living my life, whose life am I living?