Peaceful moments...
A few months ago I sub-titled this blog, "A life less comfortable and convenient." At that time the point was true, I am making it more true every day...I am making choices that will make my life less comfortable and less convenient. At the same time I am making the difficult choices that I need to make, to be fulfilled - to feel that I have a sense of purpose here in this life.

Before I left on my trip to Africa I felt fulfilled and balanced in my life: I had a good paying job at ShopNBC, I had health insurance, a 401K match, and two weeks of paid vacation. All of these things made me feel comfortable and of course comfort makes us happy, in a way. I had the paycheck at my day job and I had my volunteer efforts with Give Us Wings to balance it all out.

Upon my return, I feel like the balance that once existed has disappeared. Making money with my 40-hour-a-week and having a little time left over for Give Us Wings does not feel like enough. I am unbalanced. Suddenly, I am not calculating my time and efforts in terms of dollars and cents - but in terms of the impact they are making on the world. Through this simple math - I realized that my impact on the world is not as great as it could be. It could be much greater, if I had a little more time.

Time is truly our most valuable resource; time is money as they say...I say time is ticking. I only have so much time to accomplish the goals that I am setting for myself and if the work I am doing is not helping me reach my goals then the amount of money I make is not going to balance the equation out. Some of us are not fulfilled by a paycheck alone - some of us need to feel like we are making a real difference - in order to be happy...

All of this thinking about my paycheck and my purpose drove me to make a radical life change this week. On Wednesday I quit my full-time, comfortable...good job. I didn't quit because I hate my job, or because I can't stand going into work each day (I actually like my job). I quit because I am in need of a sense of purpose, more than a paycheck.

I am very lucky, I know, to be sinlge and able to live on less money. I think of the millions among us who would love to quit their corporate job to do something more meaningful - but they can't because they have kids and they have a mortgage. I am doing this for all of you, as much as me.

I am taking a part-time job that will pay the bills (and not much else) - so that I can put more time and energy into my work with Give Us Wings. I have to admit that this decision came easier than you may think - it is a calling, I believe. However, I hope that anyone who reads this can take it to heart and think about their own path to fulfillment.

My brother and I have been debating the internal struggle that each of us faces each day - between our heart and our heads. There are moments in life when the choices we have to make become very difficult - when your head will not let you follow your heart - or when your heart will not listen to your head. Once in a while there is a moment when your head and your heart find peace...in these moments, you can be confident that you have found your way.