Diapason

Ever thought about why you were put on this earth?  Okay, I know that sounds like a deep and possibly unanswerable question, but it’s not meant to be rhetorical.

A friend of mine attends different churches periodically to feed her curiosity about faith and spirituality.  She says I would have loved the service she attended last weekend. The congregation was treated to a video clip called “Joy in the Congo”, aired last spring on 60 Minutes. Watch it here:  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57410920/joy-in-the-congo-a-musical-miracle/?tag=contentMain;contentBody.  

It’s the story of a pilot who found himself at a crossroads twenty years ago when the airline he flew for folded.  He decided to follow his dream to assemble a symphony orchestra.  He lives in the Congo. This is a pretty lofty dream in and of itself, choosing to make it happen in a third world country ravaged by poverty and war seems like an impossibility. When he started not a single person, including the pilot himself, could read music or play an instrument. Yet somehow through his determination and sheer joy for music, he created enough interest to seat a complete orchestra, teach and provide instruments to every participant.

The message conveyed at this church service, and the reason my friend thought I would find this so compelling, is this:   Follow your passion, be the best you that you can be.  When you are doing what you love, you can positively impact the lives of those around you. That’s what you’re here for.

When put in those terms, it almost seems too easy.  Do what I wake up every morning craving to do, the things that I’m naturally good at, the stuff I would rather be spending time on more than anything else in the world and I’ll be fulfilling my life’s purpose?  Where do I sign up?

It’s that simple.  And it’s not.  There are those who will get caught up in the practicality of it all.  Somehow there needs to be a way to make a living, to cover the responsibilities we all have in life which can’t be ignored.  I’m sure if this pilot had told his mother when he was eighteen that he wanted to have a symphony orchestra she would have said words to the effect of “over my dead body” and sent him to college instead.  When the dream seems a little too impractical or risky, those who are responsible for guiding us tend to steer us in a safer direction.

But the part that is simple, and should be considered, is the idea of carving out space in your life for what you truly love, no matter how impractical or implausible it feels. It doesn’t necessarily need to be how you make your living or consume every waking moment.  But it could be. Start by making some room. Find ways to incorporate more of what you love into your work. Develop your outside interests to the point that they could become a career or your Plan B when you find yourself at a turning point. The most important aspect is to get into the habit of feeding your own interests.  At a minimum you’ll be a happier person.  At a maximum, you’ll change your life.

We tend to think that in order to make an impact on others we need to do for them.  We have this mindset that we’ll put what we’d like to do on the backburner while we go be someone else for the people in our lives. This is what they need and want from us, isn’t it? What’s hard to wrap your head around is the idea that by feeding your own soul, you feed the souls of others.  This orchestra sits in the middle of a war torn country where just outside the parking garage some of the musicians use for practice, there’s mayhem.  But in the moments these people play their music, they are transformed.  By doing what this pilot loves, he has literally changed the lives of those who practice his craft with him.  If he hadn’t taken the lead, if he had not made this possible, where would these people be?

Sometimes we give up before we start.  We think that if we can’t foresee a huge impact we shouldn’t try at all.  We think that if we can’t envision our passion influencing anyone other than ourselves, it’s not worth doing. It’s selfish and we’re just better off continuing to serve and support those around us who are pursuing their own dreams, right? 

The thing is we can’t ever predict the outcome. We need to put ourselves out there to find out what will really happen. I sometimes wonder if I should keep writing my blog.  The readership appears small, and it does take away from time I could be putting into other things. Is it serving a purpose if it hasn’t gone viral?    

I think it is, and here’s why:  The first step toward a dream could be made when one reader reads one blog post. Who knows where that will take her and those around her impacted by her gift?

What the minister at my friend’s church service was trying to say by telling this story is that this man is doing nothing more than what he loves. He couldn’t possibly foresee the power following his dream would have on those around him.  All he knew is that it made him happy.  That’s enough to start anyone off and running.

It’s what you’re here for.