These are the opening words to John Denver’s song the eagle and the hawk. The first time I heard the song was when my grandmother gave me John Denver’s greatest hits on an LP record. The song has always spoken to me of strength and the process of new birth and ultimately personal freedom.
The song has maybe even a deeper meaning as I emerge from my Covid experience. I feel a new wind blowing. I feel the sun warming and beckoning me to come and fly. There was and still is some anxiety as I think of leaving the safety of the nest. Yet, the desire to fly out ways the anxiety of leaving the nest.
One of the things I am clear about is this desire to see and explore new opportunities. One of the things I did over a month ago was to take a friend up on the offer to see and explore new opportunities because what I was doing was sucking the life right out of me. I also know that there are times in our lives when we need someone outside of our circle to look into our lives and to reflect back to us as one looking in a mirror what they see that we can’t.
What I saw and felt confirmed what the small voice in my heart had been saying for a while, “you are so unhappy and you are dying inside.” One of the first things I saw was how my countenance would change when speaking about what I was doing versus when I spoke of something for which I had a passion. The goal for me then became to find the thing or things that I am passionate about and to pursue that thing or things I am passionate about and therefore feeding my heart and soul rather than doing something that drains the heart and soul.
So, I have been seeking and searching and asking when encountering something I may like to do, “is this the next right thing for me.” What I have discovered is that what I am passionate about is in fact an old passion with a grown-up twist. Any guesses? What I discovered was I really want to help people and I get a great deal of joy and satisfaction out of sharing and using my life experiences and I see as well there is a desire to advocate for issues and ideas that will leave people better off. I want very much to help the younger generation to be prepared to carry the baton forward.
While I remain unclear about whether it will be as an advocate or perhaps in a mentoring role, I am excited to see how it unfolds and I hope as I continue through this process that I can share my experience with you.
Thoughts? E-mail: francisearly@francisearly.com
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