Do you believe that there is something you’re meant to do? Many people refer to this as “a calling” of sorts, and I’m curious whether or not such a thing exists. More importantly, if you don’t follow that calling, will you end up being only moderatly successful at other things?

“Some once told me the definition of Hell: The last day you have on earth, the person you become will meet the person you could have become.”

Whoa. So what do I have to do to make sure that those are the same people?

Daniel and I have been talking about him finding a job here in Oklahoma recently. I keep telling him to pursue something he enjoys, or at least to do that on the side. So this got me thinking, am I pursuing what I enjoy? I mean, I love my job and my coworkers and all the super cool things I get to do. That said, if I lived in socialist Denmark and they said, “Do whatever you want, the pay will be the same.” I’m curious what I would pursue. I mean, would I have become an artist? I’d love to pretend that’s the case, but I definitely will only ever be moderately good at that. It’s something I enjoy, but not something I’m particularly gifted at. Same goes for being a musician. So what are my strengths? I mean, what do I have a natural ability to do?

Athletics is definitely out.

So I’ve been sitting on this idea for a few days and going through the list of things I make time for. Apparently, being a professional napper or TV-watcher is insufficient. And I’m not saying I want to quit my day job, because I absolutely do not. I’m just thinking, maybe I should pick up something on the side because it’s something I love–it’s my calling– and then maybe one day that will be enough to pay the bills. Maybe not.

Currently, the only thing I seem to recognize as something I both enjoy and seem to be relatively talented at is writing. I have, therefore, come to the conclusion that I’m going to take the 20-some-odd pages of hodge-podge I’ve written over the last four or five years and actually write a book. It may be a book no one ever reads, but I think, for myself, it’s something I’ve thought about and decided on many a time or two and  if I make it to the end of my life without doing it, that will be the missed opportunity I regret.

Is it my calling? Who knows.

If I wrote a book, would you read it?