Listening to the Call

Yesterday I saw two Canada Geese take flight from the lake. In one moment they were sitting together on the water near other geese, and in the next moment they simultaneously began honking, flapping their wings, and rapidly paddling their feet. Within seconds, their chests emerged completely from the water. Next their stomachs and feet were in the air, and they tucked their feet and legs into the soft of the feathers of their underbellies. Their wings, flapping hard and fast as they rose from the water, slowed to a rhythmic pace. These geese left the lake with seemingly no hesitation, no indecision, and no fear. I’m not sure what motivated them to leave at that time. Moments before they had been eating moss from the bottom of the lake at a leisurely pace. Something inside of them changed, and they knew it was time to take flight.

What would our lives be like if we so readily paid attention to the things that we feel called to do? What stops us? Fear? Indecision? Self-doubt? What would our lives be like if, when we felt called to do something, we simply took flight toward the thing that calls to us? How utterly freeing would it feel to listen to our inner knowing, trust ourselves, and, without hesitation, indecision, or fear, take flight toward that which calls us?

Try writing about something that you feel called to do. What holds you back from moving toward what calls you? What do you imagine your life to be if you took flight toward what is calling you? Write about one step you can take to move closer to your calling.

“Saying yes to the calls tends to place you on a path that half
of yourself thinks doesn’t make a bit of sense, but the other
half knows your life won’t make sense without. This latter
part, continually pushing out from within us with a centrifugal
force, keeps driving us toward authenticity, against the tyranny
of fear and inertia and occasionally reason, against terrific odds,
and against the knocking in our hearts that signals the hour.”

—Gregg Levoy, Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life