They say no man is an island, but what if we saw our hearts in this way – as islands of sorts – that every soul was a spread across life’s horizon like a series of islands. Each with its own vegetation, treasure, harbour and armoury.
This is the image that came to me last week as I worked to reconcile 100 days of sailing across job sites, applying for roles without a Yes. 50+ application, screening interviews and lots of ‘sorry, we loved you, but…’
Admittedly, it’s been a very humbling journey – and as I moored near against last job shortlisting I made a deal with my deflated self that if there was not place for me to trade my time and talents for a weekly wage I would return home, open my harbour, and invite others to visit me.
Returning to my own island, from 100 days of searching, God and others allowed me to see the unique flora and fauna of my own island. Fellow sailors and friends, without knowing, converged with messages of encouragement and affirmation – each a wink from God, this this is where the wind was blowing all along, that the effortless journey is the one home to myself.
It’s been one week since I sailed home. I will spare you the details but the moment I decided to change course and open my own harbour has been a relief and a blessing. I needed the liminal space – the in-between time at sea – to lose and find myself.
This is the role of liminal space; to painfully remind of us of who we are, God is, and how we fit into the great unfolding of all things.
As some of you may have seen, I revamped my website and am open to help people with three stream of creative breakthrough. There is an adage in marketing that you should find your one thing and hone that… and that’s great advice for some – but some of us are created to push back against the question of ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ by answering, ‘I want to be Me, and everything I’m supposed to be’.
It is amazing how decisions we make within our hearts create space for things to flow towards us. In the last 7 days, through a series of events I have found myself signing up 3 people to help them publish their own books. I have had men reach out wanting counsel and guidance. Plus old plans to run business ideation and planning workshops using Lego (yes, Lego Serious Play is a thing) have gone from being on hold to let’s do it!
A big thank you to all those people who saw (and read) my job-seeking frustration and offered words and advice including, ‘You are uncommon / too unconventional / too dynamic / too much for some single track company role’ etc. I deeply appreciate the wind it created to point me back home to my strange beloved self!
with love
David