It’s our second date. My (now) husband and I are sitting across from each other at my favorite Indian restaurant. He proceeds to tell me of his dream to sail across the ocean. I gasp! He asks,”Is the food too hot?!”

“No. You want to SAIL a BOAT across the OCEAN??!” I couldn’t think of anything scarier, really. Have you seen the ocean? I don’t care how big your boat is… Since then he’s played the movie “White Squall” for me a couple of times. True story. Very inspiring. But THE WIFE dies! Not helping. And need I mention that the man does not know how to sail, grew up land-locked in Pennsylvania, and gets sea-sick??

This is his dream. He looks at sailboats for sail (oops!) sale on Craigslist. He has a book on how to build a sailboat from scratch. I did get us a private sailing lesson last summer. So I guess the ball is rolling, for him to do what he feels called to do for whatever reason. I think he should. No… I think he must. The thought, the desire, the past life memory… whatever it is that is calling him must be answered.

I know there are other things that must be done. We must feed the starving children of the world, for example (I bawled yesterday watching Josette Sheeran on Ted.com). I just think we each need to answer the calling, the desire, the truth that is residing in us. It’s our part in the whole. Maybe it’s working out some karma in this lifetime. Maybe it will inspire another. I’m sure it is what we will be best at, what will rally unforseen forces to aid us, and what will feed our souls. If my husband learned to sail, got a boat and took himself (and maybe me and our daughter) across the ocean, would it feed the hungry children? Not exactly, but perhaps he would be happier, be a better dad (though I don’t know how – he’s fantastic already) and magically, energetically inspire and support the goals and dreams of our two-year-old who may someday be a Josette Sheeran… Who knows?

How do you know what needs to be done, and can only be done by you? It’s what calls to you. It’s what comes to you. It’s what you are jealous of others doing. Theologian Howard Thurman said,

“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.”

Then we just have to contend with our inner critic. Last week my fabulous artist friend Lori Portka told me she was planning on making a calendar with her artwork for 2012. She said she wanted it to be more than just a calendar though. I said, “Mm, hmm. Let me think about that.” In 5 minutes a complete idea came to me. CAME to me… from where? From whom? I don’t know but Lori loved it, we put it together in an hour, and you’ll be able to buy it right here on the world wide web in a day or two! The process was joyful, easy and exciting. (I’ll post a video soon of us telling the story of its birth – complete with hilarious outtakes. Well, we think we’re funny anyway.) That night I heard,”Who do you think you are? Just let Lori make her calendar. What do you have to teach? Who wants to hear your take on things?” and blah, blah, blah like that. I know better. I laughed it off, let it go and stuck to my guns. This came to me, through me, and I’m not going to let my critical mind squash it, shrink it or block it.

So what would you do if you could? If you were qualified? If money weren’t an issue? If you were the perfect person to do it?

Is there a dream, an idea, a creation wanting to come through you right now? Who knows where that might lead…

Come alive! The world needs you.

click on the photos to go to their Flickr page

(by qulic and tamcs44)