follow your bliss

Karen Armstrong, in her very captivating book, The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness, says:

“In the words of the late Joseph Campbell, we have to ‘follow our bliss’, find something that wholly involves and enthralls us, even if it seems hopelessly unfashionable and unproductive, and throw ourselves into this, heart and soul.”

For me, to follow my bliss means to be a pastor. In fact, I desire to be the best possible pastor I can be. About two years ago, when I was in the middle of great vocational confusion, someone asked me what I wanted to do with the rest of my life (Don’t laugh! Yes, I was 48 at the time!). I couldn’t give a straight answer. With insightful wisdom he asked me, “What do you want people to say about you at your funeral?” Suddenly there was great clarity. I knew that I didn’t want people to say, “He was a great artist!” or “He was a great musician!” or “He was a great carpenter!” or whatever. I knew I wanted people to remember me as a great pastor who served the church well.

Lisa continues to encourage me: “Pursue your passion!” It is serving as a pastor. And when I was reading a book on business success, he was writing about doing what you are passionate about. I caught myself thinking, not about art, selling on ebay, blogging, or any other kind of business. I realized I was thinking about how to be a good pastor. That was another day I realized what my passion was… how to follow my bliss. I love art, music, business, and the intellectual life, but my core passion is the church and being a pastor of it.

Are you following your bliss?

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