Creative Vs Consumer Orientation: The Choice That Defines Us
A Call To Adventure
Life presents us with a fundamental choice: to create or to merely consume.
Now that I think of it, there are just two main orientations in life: Creators & consumers. All creators consume, but differently - it's not a self-soothing practice; it's nourishment.
They consume to feed their ideas, their purpose, their vision. Consumers, on the other hand, consume to fill the void, to silence the nagging emptiness that echoes in the quiet moments.
Careful What You Wish For
I see many people looking for their purpose, for their passion.
I have a feeling the secret hope there is to make life easier, and more fun. Like having a purpose in life will just sort out everything else. And it might! But it's not as simple, and not as rosy as some might like to think.
Purpose as a Filter
Yes, a purpose, a passion is something that will act as an organizing force in your life; a filter of your reality. But what many don't talk about is that you often don't get to choose what you get - maybe the purpose chose us? And frankly, a lot of the time, when we have a glimpse of what might be calling us, it may feel nothing like that bliss we've pictured.
We quickly assess the situation and label it as difficult, hard, complex, demanding, not worth the effort, downright silly. Your logical brain - often with the help of other people around you, who get worried about you and themselves - will try to talk some reason into you. They will give you solid arguments to NOT do something.
“But, but, but”
It's ironic that you might have begged the Universe for a purpose, but once it sends you one, you somehow don't feel that great about it. In that sense, I believe that having a purpose, a calling, a vocation is like becoming a parent - you don't really get to choose what you get, and your job is to do the best you can, with what you know and what you have.
Imagine being handed a newborn - fragile, demanding, and completely dependent on you. You didn't choose its personality, its challenges, or its gifts. But there it is, in your arms, your responsibility. Your purpose. It will drain you, exhaust you, push you to your limits. But it will also fill you with a love and meaning you never knew existed.
You might think things will get easier - and they will. But they will also get much more difficult in many other ways. Still. Worth. It. There are things in life that may drain your energy, your time, sometimes your bank account, but give you a deep sense of meaning and aliveness. That's it. THAT IS IT.
Answering The Call. Or Not.
I remember that every time I hear the 'call to adventure' in life, I was far from thrilled and would usually try to talk myself out of it for a while. "A while" could last months but it could last years. For some people, it can last decades. Many never answer the call, and over the course of life, the sense of purpose slowly dissipates. But regrets often stay.
If I am honest, I would love to have a more 'practical' nature. My parents were good at business; I always had a weird proclivity to follow the elusive business of sense-making.
On the outside, it may look as if I am purposefully trying to complicate my life!
But who said life was meant to be easy?
We often focus on what we have to invest to bring our vision to life, but rarely think of what it gives us in return.
The Aliveness Currency.
The thing is - it’s a different currency; it’s a sense of aliveness, a sense of joy you can’t buy on Amazon.
You can either accept who you are, or try to numb it.
Sometimes, when people say they don't have passion or a purpose in life, I can't help but wonder: do they, really? Or is it just that they don't like the gift they were given?
So, I challenge you: What's calling you? What purpose have you been avoiding because it seems too hard, too impractical, too daunting?
The most worthwhile journeys often begin with reluctant first steps. Will you choose to create, to answer that call, no matter how intimidating?
Or will you resign yourself to merely consuming, filling the void with fleeting distractions?
Your choice, and it defines not just your path, but who you become.
Tired of the never ending battle between the opposing voices in your head?
Are you're ready to move beyond stuckness?
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