I was asked a question this morning ….
Imagine ….. in five years time, and I am being acknowledged publicly for the difference I made ….. the problem I addressed/ solved and the impact my life had …. and I am receiving an Award ….. what do I want it to be for and how do I want to be introduced ??
WHAT ……. ???
I could have been asked it in a more usual way … it’s my funeral and what do I want people to be saying about me (now that I am no longer here to hear it!) ?
That might have been an easier question to answer as potentially it gave me a lot more time and I am going to die anyway whether I make an impact on the world or not! So, no pressure.
But this question was about me, in five years …. from now, to be answered by me. Five years is plenty of time for anyone to do anything …. so what is it that I want to do, or say, consciously, that will make the difference that I want to make …. while I am still alive to make it?
What a question!
What problem did I want solve and what impact did I want to have?
Of course I was stumped …
Now that was really putting it up to me. This wasn’t just an airy fairy question like “how would you spend the Lotto Euromillions” knowing that was ‘never going to happen’.
This was a highly practical question, and it was giving me sufficient time to achieve whatever it was I said in my answer. There was nothing in the rule book to say I couldn’t achieve it. There were no rules as to what I could or couldn’t do.
This was a question about what did I want … what would really give measurable meaning to my life …. what purpose could drive me forward for the next five years in the fulfilment of the answer to this question?
This was not a question of ability or capability. This was a question of willingness. What was I willing to say.
‘The quality of our lives is determined by the quality of questions we ask’.
I am still in the inquiry. To say “I don’t know” would only be a half-truth.
My tentative steps towards an answer have me looking at what I am already doing and where am I already making the difference I want to make. And where am I not, and why not?
So, while I say ‘the cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek’, it seems like I need to spend a little more time in my cave, rummaging around for the answer to my own question – ‘what keeps me hidden and silent in my cave still ?’
When will I come out of hiding? Is there any purpose in remaining ‘hidden and silent’ ?
For each of us, it is so much better to be seen and heard for who we truly are. We are all waiting to be discovered but don’t realise that we have the final say in this. Our self-expression is our own responsibility. There is no one else coming. When we are being fully ourselves, fully alive and fulfilled in life, loving who we are and loving what we do, that is what will make all the difference in the world.
So, when will I realise that in the matter of my life, my voice matters. My self expression is my responsibility. I get to say if it’s important that I be seen and heard. And that takes courage …. and a willingness to be vulnerable.
All courage comes from encouragement.
The only time is now.
What matters in the matter of your life? And what are you saying/not saying about that?
I encourage you to speak up today and say something truly meaningful for you, in line with your purpose in being here, sharing this journey, with the people you meet.
Have a truly wonderful day
Eileen x
