Journal of Sacred Work

   Our lives reveal who we are, don’t they? Behind each of the masks we wear for different situations lives the truth. What do you want your life to say?
   To a remarkable degree, I find that most people live unexamined lives. The questions they might ask themselves, the ones that could provoke potential from them, are often never raised. They have buried gifts that might be unwrapped if they worked to let their lives speak the best truths they have.
   I learn this when I ask people about their dreams. "What do you want your life to say?" I sometimes ask. I often get back a blank stare, sometimes followed with an answer like: "That I was a nice person." There’s nothing wrong with this answer unless there is a lot of distance between the answer and reality. Parker Palmer has written eloquently about this subject in a book I have referenced before, Let Your Life Speak…

   Palmer challenges us to probe our life choices. The value of provocative questions is that they can stimulate us to open more of the gifts of our potential. The reason many don’t like these questions is that the answers may cause discomfort.
   For example, what if I ask, "How else might you serve others?" To answer this honestly requires that you think about what else you might do beyond what they are doing right now. Many people feel overwhelmed. They are not clear about the fact that more thoughtful service to others may actually relieve some of the stress we’re fond of trumpeting.
   Or perhaps they really have reached their limit and do need a rest. The single-parent caregiver who is throwing themselves into work and then expending all remaining energy to care for family and friends may truly need a break.
   In any case, the question of what we want our lives to say can be incredibly helpful in focusing our gifts. This is not a question of legacy. We have no control of what others will say about us. Instead, it’s about what WE want to say with how we live.
   Like it or not, our lives have already spoken for us up to this point. Do we like what our lives have said? What would you like your life to say from this moment forward?

-Erie Chapman