“Dreaming is about waking up. The unconscious often knows things we don’t, things that in the broad daylight of consciousness remain invisible to us, just as the stars play to an empty house during the day when the sun is shining. Some things can only be seen when it’s dark.”
– Gregg Levoy, in his compelling book, “Callings; Finding and Following an Authentic Life
“Some things can only be seen when it’s dark.” Hmmmmmm…
At The Eldest of The Three’s soccer game yesterday, a few parents were talking about heading back to work — back to “the grind,” after three or four weeks of shortened work schedules thanks to the Holidays. The commentary, for the most part, was not driven by excitement or anticipation. “The grind,” was the most flattering term used by this group sitting a couple rows behind me to describe the upcoming week. They didn’t seem particularly motivated or excited about today.
When we’re following our calling, though, anticipation of what we do lift us up and motivate us to move forward.
So, how do we know what we’re called to do. This week, we’ll explore some ways we can discern our callings, via Gregg Levoy’s book.
One of Levoy’s most compelling contentions is that our dreams matter. “Dreams tell us how we really feel about something. They help us fine-tune our direction and ascertain our calls…and remind us how much bigger our lives are than what we know, consciously,” he writes.
I’ve never been a note-pad-on-the-bedside-table kind of guy, but just as Samuel had to learn to do back in the early days of the Bible, if our dreams are waking us up, maybe it’s worth a minute or two to figure out who or what’s waking us up — to try to capture the thought and the feeling we experienced. Maybe it’s worth it to pause and allow ourselves to see what we can only see when it’s dark.
Here’s a link to buy the book. Sadly, it wasn’t e-Reader ready last time I checked. Gladly, it was still worth the read.
Seeing in the dark can help us make a difference today!
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