Day 4: Thirty Days to Mindful Heresy–Being Brave Enough to Accomplish Our Life’s Purpose

As human beings, we are said to function as if we are mirrors. Sometimes we look into a mirror and see ourselves; other times, we are the mirror reflecting back from the world around us.  Commonly, we compare ourselves to what we see, and other times contrast our sense of who we think we are with the evidence around us that tries to give us a glimpse of our frailty.  “That’s not me!”  “I wonder if I am like that?” “Is that what they think of me?”

Such manic and habitual thinking works really well to keep us in our place, we might think.  But from the perspective of mindful heresy, it very often is working to keep us from our place.  Being able to cultivate a connection to that inner voice that tells us what we are meant to do is a practice that takes courage, a connection to our hearts, and a relatively deaf ear to such things as markets, careers, images, and identity.

Sometimes, the call to our hearts can come so piercingly that we are catapulted out of our little corners of predictable culture and identity, and we reach to the heights and distances that we are truly capable.  We make a difference–one that is palpable and observable, and doesn’t need to be argued in a personal statement justifying one’s life or work.  That’s when mindful heresy is no longer in a tug of war with the ego.

I was moved to write today’s blog by the story of Narayanan Krishnan, and I invite you to watch this video with his story and ask yourself, “What would I do if I were as brave as this man?”  And then realize that we are all brave enough to accomplish our life’s purpose.