This morning I began the day sipping coffee on my back porch watching my freshly stocked bird and squirrel feeders.  (There’s nothing like the sights and sounds of nature to rejuvenate us and help us stay centered in a world of busy-ness.)  While most birds chatter in nearby treetops waiting for me to return inside before eating, a brave and beautiful cardinal comes to rest and we observe each other as he nibbles, both in curious wonder of the other.  I get the impression that I must seem like a god to him, for I know they see from their neighboring nests and perches when I restock their feeder.  What must they think when days pass and the feeders empty because I’m traveling or I simply get busy and forgetful?  Then I realize how much this is like employment!

It’s been almost a year since I was unexpectedly laid off from a job.  That is quite a jolt for anyone, and I really felt it as a single homeowner.  In the weeks that followed, I had plenty of opportunity to realize how much I’d come to depend upon a steady paycheck over the years.  In fact, it was all I’d known.  My “reality programming” looked something like this:

Job = Money = Survival
Have money problems?  Work more hours or spend less!  Always save.  Be responsible.
Have faith the work will come and live in thankfulness for all I have.

Like the cardinals, jobs were my god that continually provided me with money (seed) that I needed.  Although I did barter for some things, my basic programming was to be a model employee and citizen.  Growing up, whenever Dad followed his dreams, Mom amused him until she decided we’d waited long enough for abundance (a few months, usually) and then became impossible to live with until he abandoned his dream for a job making ‘enough’ money.  I watched him repeatedly do this, and then observed how at peace he was when he suddenly passed away after a life of pursuing his dreams, while she died unfulfilled.  I resolved that security was not a fair trade for joy, and this is my time NOT to ignore my dreams any longer, but to stand deep in the possibility of my own emergence.

I have come to see how God provides for my needs when god (employer) doesn’t and in a way that’s much more fulfilling, just as God feeds the cardinals when god (I) doesn’t.    Sure, there are times it seems like it would be easier to just go get a job and know when and how I’d pay the bills, but easier is NOT happier.  Jobs will always be there in a pinch, but God dreams a bigger dream for us when we step out from behind our other gods and perceived securities.  So far, this Journey of Possibilities diamond-in-the-rough dream is beyond anything I’ve ever experienced and I’ve only just now gotten to any sparkle in this cut.

Certainly some people fully express themselves in a conventional job, and that is perfectly fine!  There is no more judgment there than for a bird eating at a feeder.  However, are you one of the people who are at the feeder yet know deeply that your Highest expression is elsewhere?  Decisions based in fear may successfully get us through a crisis here and there, but they are not intended to be a place from which to live our lives.  Safety is not joy, but one aspect to balance with risk in pursuit of joy and fulfillment.   Behind every god we accept here is a God who fully supports our deeper passion.  To believe otherwise is simple sacrifice – not of our dream, but of our Self.

I welcome ALL comments and feedback below.  Let’s strike up a conversation about your bird feeders and passions!  I’m here for you and will definitely respond to any conversation you would like to strike up, encouraging others to do the same.   I am also here to provide one-on-one tips, strategies, and support for you!

Namaste,

Sheryl Sitts
Founder & Chief Inspirational Officer
Journey of Possibilities