#766 Your Deep Gladness

In our last +1, we talked about Stephen Cope and his take on dharma.

Recall his belief that “every single human being has a unique vocation” AND that “every human being’s duty is to utterly, fully, and completely embody his own idiosyncratic dharma.”

(Cue the choir of angels singing Abraham Maslow’s wisdom that “What one can be, one must be!”)

We ended that +1 with one of our simple reflection questions (that, of course, could fill up up an entire weekend workshop and a lifetime of contemplation/striving!).

I asked: “What’s YOUR idiosyncratic dharma?”

Today we’ll take another pass at getting clarity on what we’re here to do.

To get that clarity, we’re going to flip to some wisdom from another Note I read in my PhilosophersNote-athon.

Here’s how William Damon puts it in Noble Purpose. He calls “dharma” a “calling” and tells us: “The idea of a ‘calling’ is an ancient notion with religious roots. Max Weber wrote that a calling is a ‘task set by God.’ All individuals have their own particular callings, reflecting three realities: (1) their own God-given abilities; (2) the world’s need for the services their callings provide; and (3) their enjoyment in serving society and God in their own special ways. Much like any noble purpose, a calling is both meaningful to the self and important to the world beyond the self. Christian theologian Frederick Buechner writes, ‘The kind of work God usually calls you to do is the kind of work (a) that you need most to do and (b) that the world most needs to have done. . . . The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.’”

Today’s +1.

What gives you great joy?

What does the world need?

Let’s find the place where those two meet and answer God’s call as we give the world all we’ve got.

P.S. We talk about this a LOT in Purpose 101 where I share 25 of the most life-changing journal questions I’ve personally used to get more clarity. So, if getting more clarity on your idiosyncratic dharma (or however you phrase it!) is important to you, I think you might love that class!