All day almost every day–about 15-7–I labor. When I’m not at my desk or in front of my computer, I think about my work. And guess what? Most of this time no on even pays me.

So why do I do it? I love what I do (or most of what I do). I’ve wanted to be a writer and author since I was a little girl. I’ve always loved books. And I love speaking to interesting people, learning and putting what I learn to use in my life and offering it to others for use in theirs. I love spirituality and human potential and all things that speak of possibility and opportunity and connection with something bigger than you and me, including God, the ocean and the Internet. I love exploring the areas I’m interested in and then sharing new ideas and concepts. The best way I know to do this is by putting the lessons down in words and publishing them (and sometimes speaking them). And that’s what my days revolve around.

My life has become about helping others create a similar life. Whether I am helping them create a life as a writer or an author or a around some other passion or purpose, the goal remains the same. I’m helping them focus their daily activities on a labor of love. This comes out of feeling inspired to take action in the world.

Today I read a wonderful article that discussed how to find your purpose and do what you love. It offered quotes from six people, quotes to inspire you to do just that. I hope you will read the article by Maria Popova and do just that.

One of the quotes mentions not comparing yourself–simply following your own heart, dreams, path. It’s so easy to get distracted by the need for acceptance and prestige. The need to make money, for money to prove what we do is good enough, that we are good enough. Yet, if we follow our passion and purpose, as they say, “the money will follow. That authenticity will bring people to our work. That uniqueness that will come from not looking at what others are doing, will make us stand out from the crowd and achieve prestige without trying.

I love the poster above, called the Holsteen Manifesto. I’m going to buy one and hang it somewhere I can see it every day…many times a day. “Life is short. Live your dream and share your passion.” That’s why we are here. at least that’s what I think.

Maybe that’s what practical spirituality is all about…living connected to your purpose and passion at all times so you are inspired–in spirit–in all you do. Especially in your work. Pretty practical if you ask me.

What about you? Is your work a labor of love? Are you passionate about what you do? Do you have a purpose that inspires you to action? Tell me about it? Tell us all so we can be inspired. Leave a comment.

I took some time today to go out and look at and appreciate a few trees in my yard. I have a lot of trees because I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California. Some of them are very old and tower over our house. Others are small and struggling to stay alive during the hard conditions under which they live.

I did this because today Jews celebrate the holiday of Tu B’Shvat, the Jewish New Year for the trees. This holiday is celebrated on the 15th of Shvat, a Hebrew month that usually falls between mid-January and mid-February.

Originally this holiday served to calculate the age of the trees for tithing. Leviticus 19:23-25 states that no fruit may be taken from a tree during its first three years of life. Fruit from the fourth year was given to God as a burnt offering, and in the fifth year the fruit could be eaten. Trees aged one year on Tu B’Shvat, so in many ways Tu B’Shvat is the birthday of the trees.

The holiday is also celebrated at a time when the sap in trees begins to rise within their trunks unnoticed. The trees, still leafless in most places in the world, are beginning to grow, bud and come back to life. They are getting ready to leaf out and bear fruit once again. (Although here in California some trees, like my orange tee, are heavy with fruit!)

As I looked at the trees in my yard, I thought about these things. How much growth goes on within us unnoticed? When does our creative nature begin to rise up and flow? Is it the same for each person?  And when are we ready to give the fruits of that growth to the world?

I firmly believe we all have a God-given purpose in this lifetime. Our desire to create in the world often comes from that purpose, like my own desire to write. But I think first we must want to create for a higher purpose. The ancient rabbis and Kabbalists would say we must create for God—everything must be done for God, given to God—just as the first fruits taken from the tree in the third year were sacrificed. Only then, when we are clear about the true purpose of anything created in this world can we offer it to mere mortals, thus fulfilling our purpose on Earth.

Does that happen in the fourth year of our life? Probably not. Does it happen when we are forty? Maybe. Can we put an age on it as we Jews do for the trees, I doubt it.

I think , however,  when we become clear about our purpose, how that connects us to something greater than ourselves, and the fact that we want to fulfill it  our ability to create happens as naturally as the leaves burst forth, the blossoms open, and the fruit grows on trees.

What do you think?

Every day I feel like I”m being pushed to grow bigger than my former self. No one has made me grow; I started the process myself. I wanted to grow. I added the fertilizer and the water. The problem is that now I can’t stop the process. The process has begun, and I no longer have a choice.

Maybe growth is simply a natural process over which we have no say. I’ve heard that said. However, when we have goals and dreams and we take action towards them, sometimes we do, indeed, cause growth to happen.

The other day I stood  in my driveway prior to going for a walk and looked up at the redwood trees that grow all around my house. They towered over me reaching seemingly to the sky. I wondered how tall I could grow. That tall? As tall as those majestic trees? How big or wide? In my backyard there is a redwood tree that is absolutely huge–bigger and wider than most I’ve seen. And it continues to grow.

I had a dream of who I could become. And I took action to make that dream come true. To stop myself from growing into that person, I’d have to stop nurturing my growth, my dream. I’d have to allow myself to wither up and…well…to fail.

Some days, success feels scarier than failure. But failure at this point would disappoint more people than just me.

I’ve watched the redwood trees go through phases at different times of the year. During the drought of late summer, they drop an enormous amount of needles. It’s as if they draw back into themselves and get rid of what they don’t need to conserve energy. They don’t stop growing, though. Like them, at certain times I have to pull inward and drop things–activities–so I can accomplish what I need to do to keep growing, keep moving forward toward my goals.

At other times of the year, such as in the winter, the trees produce fruit, small cones and berries that drop onto my patio and stain it when it rains. I can hear the birds and insects in the trees eating. The redwoods seems to be sharing what they have to offer, giving away the fruit of their work. At times, I do the same, freely and willingly as I reap the benefits of my progress.

Always, though, I am stretching upward, still growing. And I’m trying to allow my roots to grow deeper, keeping me stable, grounding me. Like the redwoods, I’m also hoping to create a circle of friends around me–a cathedral of those that know me, support me, appreciate my growth, my work, my progress, that encircles me. There the sacred giving takes place…

The giving of what we gain as we grow really is the sacred act. And what better place than in a cathedral? Call it a tribe, a circle, a fan group. It really doesn’t matter.

But as the cathedral grows, I’m pushed to continue growing. And I have to ask myself, “How big, how tall, how wide am I willing to grow? How large am I supposed to grow?” I know there is a Greater Plan for me and I’m just following it, fulfilling my purpose. I wonder if I can fulfill than plan, that purpose.

So I continue to water, to fertilize, to push myself to grow.

How about you? How big, tall and wide are you willing to grow?

“And the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying: Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city…”

How often in your life have you heard God’s voice? Ever? Once? Many times?

For me…It’s a still small voice…very small…I have to listen hard. I hear it if I pay close attention.

When the whisper, the Still Small Voice, calls your name, do you run, like Jonah? Do you ignore the call? Do you do what you want instead?

Or when God calls upon you and ask you to be a messenger, like Isaiah, do you say, “Here I am, God! Send me. Heinini. Shalchayni.”

Me? Well…I don’t always like what I hear. Sometimes the task I’m given feels hard…too hard. I’m a writer and speaker. I’ve been asked to be a messenger, but sometimes I don’t feel up to the task.

God calls, we don’t always listen. We don’t always step up. Sometimes nothing happens. Things just stay the same…not great, not bad. Sometimes, though, when we don’t listen “bad” things can happen. We have to learn to survive in not-so-nice conditions – in storms, in the stomach of a whale.

Maybe we have to work at a job we hate…or we get fired.

Maybe we end up in a relationship that isn’t healthy…our significant other leaves us alone.

Maybe we end up living in a place that doesn’t suit us, or we’re forced to move.

Maybe we don’t make enough money….or we end up in debt.

Our life feels stormy…it feels darky, slimy, scary.

I’ve known this feeling and wondered whether things might be different had I followed through on that one project—that one I felt so inspired to write. Have you ever wondered if things would be different if you’d followed that inspiration you had? That sense of mission…that Still Small Voice that sounded…well…a bit like…you?

The Kabbalists say the Book of Jonah is the story of our lives life. You are Jonah. I’m Jonah, too.

Why? Because Jonah represents your soul. Your soul comes to earth to take a journey—kind of like a ride on a ship—that has a purpose, a mission—only it’s not supposed to be away from God. It’s supposed to be a journey with two navigators, a Captain and a co-captain moving closer together and toward a destination—the fulfillment of your purpose.

The problem is that we forget that purpose, the destination. When God, the Captain, tries to remind us, we often don’t hear, don’t listen or ignore the message. Or we run away from the job we were given. We stop steering the boat, steer in a different direction or jump ship.

All of these actions result in us traveling away from God…and away from ourselves, from that spark within us that has an agreement with God. This leaves us feeling alone in a strange place and often in a bad situation.

Eventually we must begin to heed the call. To listen…Sh’ma.

We have to remember our purpose, our mission…the journey we initially set out upon. A voice must stir from within…or is it from outside of us? Like Jonah being asked,” What is your occupation?” it asks, “What do you do? What have you done? What have you done with your life? Why are you here? Why were you sent? Do you remember? And did you heed the call? “

Take a moment. Can you hear the Captain calling to you? “Arise!”

Sh’ma….listen. Do you hear God calling? Are you being sent? Are you a messenger? Is that your life’s purpose…or is it something else? Will you go and fulfill it.

Shalchayni. Send me. I’m ready.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about people who do things that are inspirational. People who are courageous in large ways and small ways.

They take risks. They put themselves on the line. They overcome obstacles. They move through fear. They don’t let anything stop them from pursuing their dreams. They put others before themselves.

And their actions–their courage and determination–makes us cry, makes us smile, makes us laugh, and gives us hope. They inspire us and make us realize that if they can do it, so can we.

My son inspires me. He left home his senior year to attend the School of American Ballet in New York City. He left behind his friends and gave up whatever normal life a teen might have to pursue his dream of becoming a professional dancer. This might not seem like a big deal, but it took courage, and I find it inspiring.

Watch the video below of Emmanuel Kelly, a victim of chemical warfare and a survivor from Iraq. Orphaned and found in a shoe box, he doesn’t know how old he is, but he does know that he wants to sing.  And he has managed to become a great singer. Here’s a young man who, despite his past and his physical deformities got up in front of the whole world to pursue his dream of becoming a professional singer. That takes courage. That’s a risk. But let’s not forget about his mother who had the courage to adopt him and his brother. That takes courage, too.

If this video does not inspire you to have the courage to pursue your dreams not matter what obstacles lie in your way, think about the people who inspire you. Martin Luther King? The non Jews who helped saved Jews during the Holocaust? Moses, with his speech impediment, who freed the Israelites from Egypt? The first responders who went into the Twin Towers on 9-11? I’m sure you can think of someone.

I haven’t been writing much lately on this blog…not from lack of desire. It’s because I’ve had my nose to the proverbial grindstone. It’s been a good thing, though.

For quite some time I’ve been complaining that I can’t get anything done. Then two things happened. I needed to get some things done on deadline, and I got inspired to do the work. Amazingly, that was all it took for me to buckle down and really put my mind to it–and my nose to the grindstone. In fact, I combined my sense of purpose, which I had lost, with my passion for my work, and took inspired action.

That’s what it’s all about. That’s how you create things in your life. Come from purpose and passion. Feel inspired to act. Press your nose to the grindstone. The Divine forces will join in to assist you.

I’ve accomplished some amazing things in about two weeks time. You can, too.

It will be about another two weeks until I can back to regular writing. I’ll drop in for some short posts between now and then, if possible. (I’m away next week.) In the meantime, I hope you can try this methodology in your life and see how much you can accomplish in a short period of time.

I’ve been working really hard lately to change my negative thoughts into positive ones in a variety of areas in my life. I’m a firm believer in the creative nature of our thoughts and words.

Sometimes, however, I need inspiration as well–I need to be reminded that I need to keep persevering even when something feels difficult, when I’m experiencing rejected, when I feel alone, or when I perceive obstacles getting in my way. So, I thought I’d look for a video to inspire me that I could also post here to inspire others who might feel some area of their life was getting them down.

If you feel like something has happened in your life that has caused you to fall and it’s become difficult to get up and, therefore, to achieve your goal, watch this video.

Then get up. You can do it. And try again. You can do that to. You can achieve any goal if you set your mind to it. If this guy can do the things he does, you can, too.

I was a drum circle last night with a variety of women. As we sat around the “mother drum,” a huge drum big enough for eight of us to use together, we chanted together. Our leader was Jewish and she chose a Jewish chant consisting of one Hebrew word: hineni, “here I am.”

Adam used this word as a response when God called him in the Garden of Eden. Abraham and Moses use it when God calls them as well.

The response seems to imply something more than the typical one given when someone takes attendance, “I am here.”  This means simply, I’m present and accounted for.

When we say Hineni,” we mean, “I am here, and I am ready, willing and able to as God asks.” Basically, I’m ready to do God’s will–or to fulfill my Divine purpose.

Beyond that, there’s a sense of showing up in the world when we say hineni. When we are called by God, we must show up, not like Jonah, the biblical character who runs and hides and ultimately ends up in the belly of a whale, but instead we must come forward and stand tall and proud.

The fact is that those of us who believe in God feel a sense of being called every day–not from without but from within. Thus, we must stand tall and proud and be present at all times. We must show up every day.

Those of us that don’t believe in God may feel called anyway—by our sense of justice or righteousness or simply by what we call our Higher Self or some Higher Power. Maybe we get a sense of intuition, or we believe in our soul in general and the messages we get from our soul.

As I chanted hineni last night I realized I have not being showing up–not really, not totally. I haven’t been fulfilling my purpose. I haven’t been doing what God or my Higher Self has called me to do on the Earth in this lifetime.

What about you? When you say, “Hineni,” how does it make you feel? What does it bring up for you? Are you simply present and accounted for or are you making a difference, living up to your full potential, fulfilling your purpose, and hearing and doing God’s will or the will of your Higher Self, your soul or the best you that you know you can be?

“If I am not for myself, then who will be for me?
And if I am only for myself, then what am I?
And if not now, when?”
~Rabbi Hillel

I went to sleep last night thinking about a friend, not much older than myself, who is facing the last days of his life. I woke today to my 51st birthday. I have possibly half my life still ahead of me.

For quite some time I’ve complained about not achieving the things I want to achieve, not doing the things I want to do, not having the things I want to have in my life. I still have a chance to create them. Others do not.

This reminded me of the three lessons Rabbi Hillel offered on how to live life: be there for yourself, be there for others, and do it now.

Rabbi Hillel said, “If I am not for myself, then who will be for me?” It is up to us to take up our own causes, to believe in ourselves, to make sure we achieve our full human potential and live our lives fully. When we die, we want to be able to say we regret little or nothing and we were our best selves…every day.  Despite friends, family and coworkers, we are our best advocates and supporters. When we decide to make a change or achieve a goal, we do it. We do it for ourselves.We must be there for ourselves.

I look back over the last year. I felt so pushed to accomplish something when I hit the BIG 50. And here I am at 51 with little to show for the last year. I’ve been waiting…for others to be for me. It’s time for me to be for me.

Rabbi Hillel said, “And if I am only for myself, then what am I?” In our attempt to achieve something in this lifetime, we must focus on something other than ourselves. The greatest gift we can give is to give to others, to find our purpose and to fulfill it in the service of others. That doesn’t mean not earning money in return for giving. It doesn’t mean giving until you are empty. It simply means being willing to give. God created us as receivers of all the goodness He/She had to give. However, we eliminate the separation between Giver and receiver by becoming like God and giving as well. When we do this, we tap into the flow of abundance in the universe–which allows us to continue giving.

I know I have a purpose. I know there is more to my life–in the past and in the future–than being only for myself. I can be more than that. I am more than that. I will become more than that. I will be there for others in my actions, through my work, in my thoughts and prayers.

“If not now, when?” asks Hillel. Ah, the important question. Apply it to anything. When will I do what I said I would do? When will I finish reading the books I’ve started? When will I change my habits? When will I improve my relationships? When will I earn more money? When will I take time for me? When will I spend more time with my kids? When will I relax? When will I find joy? When will I create a friend? When will I pursue my dreams?

Kevin Eikenberry asks this question in his recent blog post.

We can wait. But it’s a risk. Like my friend, we could discover we have only six weeks or six months left to live. Then we might die realizing we lived only for ourselves. In the process, maybe no one will be for us…and we will be alone. There may be no “when” to consider. Now may be a short-term endeavor.

Now becomes the answer…the only answer. Everything goes on the to-do list not to be forgotten. Well, maybe everything can’t be done now, but we can each take out our calendar and place the important things on it–even free time for ourselves. We should. We must.

Will you do it…whatever it is…now? I’m starting today. I’ll stop complaining. (That doesn’t help, but rather hinder, anyway.) I’ll start doing. I’ll start living fully in whatever way I can.

I ‘ll be for me. I’ll be for others. I’ll do it now.

Rabbi Hillel may have lived a long time ago, but his lessons are still applicable today–and to anyone from any religion. We see his words quoted by many. Put them to use in your life today, as will in mine.

It’s almost Passover, and for me this always makes me feel squeezed. Actually, it just makes me more aware of the areas of my life that give me that sense of the walls closing in or getting tight. You don’t have to be Jewish to understand this even though Passover is a Jewish holiday.

Passover commemorates the biblical story of the Israelite’s exodus from Egypt and their passage through the Red Sea. Each Passover Jews retell this story at a seder and ask a variety of questions about the story in an attempt to recall the meaning of the events and make it feel as if they are reliving them as well. One question often asked is “What narrow places are you experiencing right now?” This relates to the Israelites passage out of Egypt, which is seen as a passage through a “narrow place.” The Hebrew word for Egypt is Mitzrayim, which often is translated as “narrow place.” Also, the Israelites passage to freedom and nationhood through the Red Sea, whose waters part to allow them to escape the pursuing Egyptians, is seen as moving through a narrow place almost like the birth canal.

So, with Passover just over two weeks away, I feel the squeeze beginning. Much like contractions or birth pains, I’m aware of the areas of my life where I am being forced to move through the narrow space, the birth canal. In one or two areas, this year I feel a bit like I’m a breech baby–stuck, unable or unwilling to be born.

Yet, I know no one is going to come along and pull or cut me out. Nor will the waters part or get wider without me making that happen. It’s up to me to allow the contractions to turn me and push me out into the life I want. It’s up to me to create the changes that will cause the waters to part and allow me to move through to my goals(s).

Or I can endure the pain of staying where I am. Contraction after contraction. Hour after hour. Day after day. Month after month.

The choice is mine: remain where I am or travel. I can allow myself to move through the narrow place, the birth canal, and be born. I can allow myself, like the Israelites, to experience freedom, to have a new life, simply by allowing the narrow place to push me forward.

So, what about you? Do you know where your narrow places are? Do you feel the squeeze? Will you continue feeling squeezed, or will you find a way to pass through the narrow place to freedom?