To Thine Own Soul Be True

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

~ June Jordan

by: Sarina Cliff

Are you tired all the time? Angry, frustrated or depressed? Going to work – a drag? Have you experienced your muscles tensing up? Do you get sick? How do you feel deep down – like a fraud? Do you lack energy and enthusiasm to do anything that matters to you? Are you held captive by your fears?

If you have answered yes to any (or all) of these questions, you are not alone. Many of us are at this same threshold, wondering and waiting for a change. We are standing on street corners, at the coffee machine and sitting with colleagues at lunch and in our living rooms complaining about our life, our world and our circumstance. Some of us know we are out of balance. Yet, it seems easier to live with the imbalances. Why? Often it’s because we’re afraid to try. Or we don’t have the clarity or confidence in other alternatives.

What kind of wake up call do we need to motivate us and move us to attend to our life, especially to the fulfillment of a dream that has been postponed or deferred. What will build our awareness? Will it be the illness of a loved one, the loss of a job, the break up of a relationship; or a doctor telling us we have been diagnosed with an incurable disease? Maybe it will take another war or the loss of our 401K. Perhaps another dream will lay dormant.

The wake up call I received was from my son. He is half my age. Yet he was the one who reminded me of how often I complained about work and spoke joyfully about creating opportunities to improve myself and to empower others. Initially I refuted his claims but knew deep down that what he was saying was true. I felt embarrassed. I felt scared because he was challenging me to walk the talk of my faith.

We cannot know the measure of our faith -our courage, our strength, our creativity- until we engage our beliefs, values and dreams. I am grateful for my job. It is a blessing. However, it is not what I feel called to do for the rest of my life. I have a dream…. many dreams but “who and what have I been waiting for” to attain my dreams? What is the measure of my faith?

I believe in timing, order and opportunities. I value wake up calls to keep me on time, in order and ready for the next opportunity. If I don’t achieve my dreams, it will not be the world’s fault. It will not be the result of my skin color, language skills, religious tradition, gender, or past. It will be the result of my fears.

I have yet to give to the world my best work. Have you done your best work? There is much work to be done. Some one encouraged me and now I am encouraging you; fear not. Though this is the worst of times, it is also the best of times. Let us take the time to consider - “we are the ones we have been waiting for.”