The Path to Your Right Livelihood

Find Fulfilling Work from Within

Seeking meaningful and fulfilling work can become a discouraging, confusing and overwhelming journey. Beware spending too much time looking for your answers outside of yourself. Ultimately, coming to know our right livelihood is the inner work of our whole being.

In order to nurture our well-being and come to our right livelihood; it is best to frequently pause and halt the busy "doing and thinking" process. Pause, relax and trust. This runs contrary to the belief espoused within the employment industry of "looking for a job is a full-time job." Woe upon those who follow this motto.

Follow the Voice of Your Heart

If we push ourselves non-stop into our career/job search (or within our jobs/lives) how can we hear the voice of our heart? The small still voice within is buried under a constantly busy mind and hectic life - so applauded by our society. I am not advocating that we wait for manna from heaven to supply our answers.

We need to do our research and seek help at times to make wise choices. However, I have found great value in pausing and waiting rather than trying to force a decision or an action. Try it.

Through pausing and exercising patience much is often revealed to us. Also, by pausing, relaxing and trusting we are aligning ourselves moment by moment with our heart and our God.

How do we distinguish between the voice of our God and that of the busy-mind pushing us along - often driven by the underlying insecurity of being human? As Robert Johnson, Jungian analyst and author of "Balancing Heaven and Earth," says; "How do we know if we are truly following the will of God? One knows instinctively; there is a sense of peace, balance, and fullness, an unhurriedness."

From my own experience I would add there is a clean, direct simplicity to my small, still voice. Also, if the voice directing me from within is harsh, hurtful or driven by fear I know with certainty this is NOT the voice of my God.

Finding work that is meaningful and fulfilling is not something we 'figure-out,' abdicate to external forces, nor something we push ourselves to do. Rather, it is more a process in time wherein we come to know and trust our deepest desires, intuition and clarity of mind. Coming to know our right livelihood involves our whole being.

Seeking the Slender Threads

Seeking the slender threads weaving our lives can also lead us toward meaningful work. What are the slender threads? "Being in a particular place at just the right time, meeting someone who steers you in an unforeseen direction, the unexpected appearance of work or money or inspiration just when they are most needed. Whether called fate, destiny or the hand of God, slender threads are at work