As a plant starts to flower, it begins the process of reproduction.  It wants to multiply.  There is some deep impulse within it - Grow!  Reproduce!  Multiply!  But to do so means putting its best on display for the world. We have a lot to learn from plants. Hang ten this week for a little botany sabbatical as we pick up a few things about how to keep reaching for the sun.  Life will go on!

This last part [this was originally the third part of a 3-part series on showing up, see the the last two blog posts], may be the most essential. Showing up is not about your work ethic, it is not even about you. Showing up is about the people you will bless. Showing up is about knowing the power of your gift, and the grace of the One who gives it.

All the greats have one thing in common: when asked about their passion or process, they do not mention fame and fortune as the driving force.  Instead they have an incessant drive to get “it” right.  They hear a song in their head and know it when they hear it.  It is clear. That’s the real math of innovation, getting “it” right.

The character developed through trials is also good.  The result of the test is good.  Tests are not for our harm (though they can hurt, they are legitimate tests!).  There is simply no other way to grow certain muscles.  Only through the testing. Perseverance requires testing. There is no other way to acquire it.  And without character, there is no hope.  Not real hope. 

Without serious intention, we all become cogs in the transactional machine. Consume this.  Exchange that.  That becomes all there is. But that is NOT all there is. Real value is out there, maybe just not where you are used to looking.

We are more than our bodies.  Our physical bodies are good.  Certainly.  But not enough.  There is more!  Bearing this "more" can be heavy.  But it is the weight of existence  - the glory of the human be-ing that both roots us in our human identity AND uproots us from our immediate surrounding and context.  We are here!

But we are more than here. 

How do we create something of real value? Something that has transcendence. Built-in sustainability. Resonation. Something that compels and works to make things better. More endurable. More cohesive. More connective. Just think: we can create something that produces this sort of enduring value.

We are not limited to finding our worth or value in what we successfully produce.  Let go of that idea.  In fact, some of your best work will be found in your failures. Accept it. There, in that surrender, is the real meaning found.  Good surrendering.

Creatives are ultimately called to work for the common good. That is where our light comes.  When we shine it outside ourselves.  Into the dark.  If we insist on staying indoors - inside ourselves, our current worlds, our zone of comfort, we will miss it.  We will miss the thrill of shining our light.  Of focusing it out into the world.  Into the hearts of others.

Once we have made it through the dirty laundry of our past, once we have exposed our interests, our tendencies, our consistent themes, then we are ready - ready for the adventure - ready for the brand new phase - ready to let go of the steering wheel and head into certain uncertainty.

At the root of every foundational question is identity: Who are you?  Why are you?  How we understand and answer these questions will more greatly determine our life than almost anything else.  Who are you?  Why are you? Right or wrong, your answer will determine many things. Wrestle hard for it. And don’t just settle for your first response.

When there is no guarantee, no predictive analysis clearly solidifying our position, there is risk.  Cold, hard, risk.  Not superficial or unnecessary risk.  Part of the plan risk.  Essential risk.  Necessary risk.  This week we talk about why that risk is worth it.

Remember, if the world really is broken, fitting into the system only enables the problem.  We become part of the disease.  But what if we are called to more?  What if indeed we are called to dream, to seek beyond what is seen, and to create solutions, especially for others who are outside the system? In this series we will unpack this uniquely human problem: discovering purpose.

It may seem counter-intuitive, even untrue at first, to put your hand to the plow and then look back. But to find our mission, our why, our true self, that is exactly what we have to do. There, buried deep in the recesses of our past - in the painful memories of our half-starts, broken dreams, even our miscalculations, we find our lasting epitaph, our truest through-line.  Don’t be afraid of the journey, it will bring great reward.

We are limited, but not stuck.  There is a huge difference.  Within what we can experience there is more than enough to explore, create, and share - though in a pacing decidedly not our own.  We can not dictate the amount, so we must learn to listen, to curate the inspiration drawing us in.

We all want to quit at times. It can feel like a never-ending climb with no end in sight. No break. No payoff. But you got this. You can take your hill. Sometimes the things we want to avoid the most carry the most significant meaning. Listen to them. Learn from them. Bring them into the light. You are not alone in the process!

Inside us all is a desire to explore.  To find new lands.  To get to something undiscovered. We must all eventually take that undiscovered path inside (whether we want to or not).  We all must wrestle with our own existence, feuding with our own consciences.  Wrestling with the inevitable questions. We must all become inner explorers.

The intersection between letting go and holding on is where fear and love meet.  No of us want to waste time on earth. We all fear missing our moment.    And should.  Yet fearing it does not mean getting what we are after.  Fear is not enough.  This is where inspiration begins.

Dying to oneself.  It’s not an unfamiliar idea.  It’s common in most eastern religions.  But do we literally forgo our identity?  Our uniqueness?  Even our calling?  Or is dying to ourselves actively rejecting false versions of our self, ones we started to believe were ours to inherit? That is the right question and the one we will explore in today’s blog.

The creative gets the great joy of co-parenting, but that is not quite accurate.  We are mere portals, conduits.  Though we partake in the birth and love the thing created, we are not the thing.  And the thing is not ours.  Not entirely.  We are co-parents, and that is made possible only by the favor of God.