Called

I believe that each of us is called to greatness.  Early in life, some person, place, or thing captures our imagination and speaks to our deepest desires.  Something calls us out of ourselves and connects us to the bigger world.  We feel inspired. 

The call to greatness fills us with delight, and sometimes, dread.  We sense that there is something irresistible that draws us toward it, and we surrender to its claim on our hearts.  As we grow older, we learn that what calls us to greatness will make us and break us.   To sustain inspiration is one of life's great challenges.  At each stage of life we lose our way and find it again.  There are times of plenty and times of famine.  What inspires us at one stage of life is often inadequate at another more complex stage.  We need to dig deeper to hear the call.  We need a fresh take to discover what may be hiding in plain sight.

Poets and mystics lend us their hearts and minds so that we can see ourselves with fresh eyes.  As a teenager I was inspired by the poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins.  I was thrilled by his verse, and my call took shape in his observation "there lives the dearest freshness deep down things."  He taught me how to see the world as a "living text," and everyday life as a revelation of mystery.  This website is for everyone who writes for their lives and who needs to be inspired to hear their own call to greatness.