Originally published on 25 May, 2017

“I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive” ~ Joseph Campbell

Have you ever gotten to a point in your life where it's like, uggghh......I just can't?

Like, I can't keep living a groundhog day of over-&-over-&-over again routines that offer little-to-no satisfaction, or fulfillment. Maybe it's a job that drains more than inspires. Maybe it's a relationship that's lost it's fire. Maybe it's a preventable health issue that makes daily living feel like a chore. Or maybe it's the daily stress or low-grade "inner ick" that's being tolerated - only it’s no longer tolerable and might even be contributing to burn-out, fatigue, depression, or physical ailments.

I've gotten to that point a couple of times during my adult life, and it ain't fun.

But as a woman invested in ongoing personal and professional development, I've kept myself inspired by staying focused on ongoing learning and regular adventures to help me show up everyday and be a functioning member of society.

Over a decade ago, I went to a workshop offered by an executive leadership consultant recommended by a Buddhist buddy of mine, and I heard a quote that would get so under my skin that it would end up activating a series of events that would change the trajectory of my career and life.

It’s that often-quoted “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” by African-American author, philosopher, theologian, educator, and civil rights leader Howard Thurman.

That was the theme of the workshop - coming alive - but I wondered “what does that even mean - ‘come alive?’

The workshop was at a lovely retreat center in a forested area in BC, and as I ate my lunch alone by a babbling brook amongst the trees, I began to feel a bit anxious, so I looked around and noticed how peaceful my surroundings made me feel. Yet by the end of the day, I was thoroughly disturbed by an inner assessment that I was so NOT where I wanted to be in life. I didn’t feel the kind of alive they were talking about – I was stressed out and looking for change.

I wanted to come alive. I wanted more purpose and vitality. I wanted to make a difference like I used to when I worked in non-profit – I was working in tech where I wasn’t sure of my contribution to the “greater good”.

Soon after the workshop, under the influence of a growing desire to use my talents for something more meaningful, I made some hard decisions to leave my job and pursue something more inspiring. But when this was accompanied by what I know now was a spiritual awakening, what I had planned turned into a “calling” that would force some big changes that were uncomfortable, but rewarding in the end - because at last, I was about to come alive.

Answering a call to "come alive" or other versions of that - like answering "what's my purpose?" or "why am I here?" - is not for the faint of heart - it invites us to expand beyond conditioned comfort. It's worth the journey if you go "all-in", and the journey is different and personal for every one of us.

I’ll spare the details for now because this is the beginning of a series of posts that highlight some of my process during the "answering-the-call-to-come alive" in the hopes of supporting anyone answering their own call to “come alive”, or just move forward in life in a meaningful way. I'll add that the story I'm sharing follows the "soul awakening" journey that guides women into and through the midlife phase of life.

But I’ll leave you with this: the image above is a collage made during an annual event called “Soul Art Day” hosted by Soul Artist Laura Hollick. I worked with Laura several years ago to help ignite and reclaim parts of myself that have been important for my “coming alive” - my inner artist and mystic. Using a process called “body-mapping”, this piece is actually a visual story of how I went from a seasoned communications professional to becoming the animisticly inspired spiritual director I am now. It’s full of magic, dreams, miracles and symbols that are personal, yet universal, and feel super empowering to me, and shows what can happen when you open to the guidance of your soul.

So that’s all I’ll say for now for this first “story blog” post - click on my About if you want to know what's behind the name Andorra's Box. I hope you’ll come on this journey with me, cuz there’s some pretty neat stories to unfold here, with themes of surrendering to a calling, healing the heart, igniting creativity, and leaning into love and life's gifts with grace.

Thanks for reading, and here’s to our aliveness!