While I was leading a recent workshop about the importance of finding and sharing your inner sparks – the passions, talents or interests that light you up from the inside out – a woman (we’ll call her Linda) approached me during our lunch break, eyes glued to the carpet.
“I’ve figured out my spark is cooking,” she said quietly. “But I heard you say we can change the world one spark at a time. How can I change the world if all I’m doing is making dinner?”
Awesome question!
I asked Linda to tell me how she feels when she’s cooking. She said her stress melts away in the kitchen; she feels relaxed, happier, in control. No surprise there; this is true for almost anyone who’s deeply engaged in something they love.
When we find that thing that lights us up from the inside out, we experience an inner peace that softens the edges of our struggles and casts a glow on our life’s path. You may not even realize how that spark illuminates the best parts of you. But the people around you will.
When I mentioned this to Linda, she looked surprised, saying, “Yes! Actually, my daughter just told me the other day that on the nights I cook dinner, I’m a lot more fun to be around!”
I’d like to live in a world where everyone were more fun to be around. I’d like to live in a world where everyone leverages their sparks to serve others (like Linda regularly and joyfully cooks for family and friends). In a world like that, cooperation and joy would be the norm, not the exception. And every time someone like Linda discovers her role in that vision, we get a little bit closer to changing the world.
