Progress, plans, and a calling

These past couple of weeks I've been totally energized by the prospect of finally finding my way. For the first time in too many moons, I feel like I'm no longer just a passenger in a boat with nobody paddling, I've taken over the oars and I'm rowing.

So lately, the question is where?

In the past, I have been so eager to get going, that I have pointed myself in a general direction and started moving. I've gotten quite good at keeping myself busy just doing stuff. Sometimes it pays the bills, sometimes it doesn't quite.

But now I want to know where I'm going. After all, Oahu, Maui, New Zealand, Japan, China, and Australia are all west of me, but where do I truly want to go? Who do I truly want to become?

So for parts of the last two days, I've been sitting down, as I often do, with a pencil and a notebook (I prefer pencil because I don't want to be afraid to make mistakes). Some days there is just something about the feel of graphite on paper that brings up a whole new way of thinking -- plus it allows me to sketch and doodle while I write (a practice I mastered in math and history classes throughout my mandated education).

Yesterday I sketched out who I want to become. I went into the feeling more than the words. And I can now really see me, feel me (with apologies to Pete Townsend). There's a lot of work ahead, but the really cool thing is that everything I've happened into before was the perfect training ground for where I'm going.

I have a mission now, complete with a mission statement that gets me out of bed in the morning, completely excited about what the day might bring.

I have the outline for my new business plan, complete with goals and objectives, philosophy, and SWOP (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, problems) analysis. In the process I discovered new ways to fund this business, new sources for customers, and a new level of excitement abut the whole thing.

Most of all, I have a reason for working that is beyond "paying the rent" -- it's more of a deep spiritual calling.

And there it is. My new life is calling. I better answer that.