We usually
think about The Call in terms of Life Purpose: a spiritual or religious
experience that lets us know with certainty how to figure out our vocation, our
gifts, our special role. We yearn to make some kind of meaningful contribution,
to know what our unique piece of the whole is, so that we can get busy making a
difference in our community and the world, feeling confident along the way.
I like to
think that The Call is much more than vocation, or something relegated to
religion or dogma. Personally, I find that more than scriptural reference, or
what others have to say, more than social traditions or psychotherapy, personal
discernment is what’s most important-becoming aware, gathering information,
making a decision, and seeking signs of confirmation of your choice.
I surmise
The Call to be spiritual, good for the Listener, and revealed for the good of
all Beings; ultimately it is pragmatic, and yet it remains rather elusive for
many of us. So why is it that for some of us, even when it becomes clearly
evident to others, we can hardly believe the message we hear is The Call, that
it’s meant for us, and we resist? Recently, The Call appeared in my life the
most unforeseen way; so unanticipated that I couldn’t help but ignore it for
almost a year.
Oprah
Winfrey says, “We're all called. If you're here breathing, you have a
contribution to make to our human community. There is no greater gift you can
give or receive than to honor your calling. It's why you were born. And how you
become most truly alive.”
One thing
for certain, surviving my cancer diagnosis many years ago helped me recognize
that I do want to be “truly alive,” and that my existence must have some
meaning or contribution. Joie de vivre! Carpe Diem! Life’s too short as the
saying goes, too short to not heed The Call and live your passions. The message
seemed loud and clear at the time I perceived it in the past, but I wonder if I confused The Call
with career direction: here I am at midlife and my vocation seems to be
changing again.
So, how do
you know you’ve heard The Call? In the song, WordUp, Nu Metal band Korn says, “When
you hear the call you've got to get it underway,” implying that one will know
without a doubt what actions to take for fulfillment and contribution. It’s
never been that simple for me, but I’m working on it.
So what is The Call for me now? Well, this
sounds as awkward as an Armadillo, especially coming from someone who’s been a
non-meat-eating person for twelve years:
er, um…The
Call for me now is clearly: “Eat chicken.”
OK, so
maybe it’s not the most humble Call anyone’s received. But wait! It’s not just
any chicken. It’s organic, locally pastured, insecticide and herbicide-free; raised by a
friendly Farmer, with maybe a little organic grain to help supplement the
chickie’s diet during inclement Midwest weather; it’s given no animal
by-products to peck, no antibiotics,
and, (as is true with all commercial poultry) no hormones (the federal
government forbids the use of hormones in all poultry, according to the USDA).
Recognizing
that my dream messages are altruistic to a degree, as well as hearing sympathetic
meat-eaters cluck about how humanely-treated chickens are happier (until we
line them up for slaughter), doesn’t assuage my tender heart. After all, the
defining moment when I decided to stop eating meat and poultry was purely
psychological. I read a book called “Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic,” by
DeGraf, Wan, and Naylor, and overnight committed to not participating in the
ever-growing pressure to increase mass production of animal sources of food
–animals inhumanely raised and treated to grow fast quicker, to get them down
the conveyor belt each hour with so much speed that a worker could not kill
them properly before being dismembered for packaging. All that to satisfy
gorging Americans, capitalism and our consumer-driven market. I immediately
embraced a vegan diet.
Kudos to
those of you who remain steadfastly vegetarian. Certainly the planet is Calling
for a more Eco-friendly, humane food chain. To my chagrin, I ended up
converting to a plant-based diet, tossing the occasional fish in the saute pan
and eating eggs. After becoming fatigued and protein-depleted I had to admit I
did not feel good, and I simply did not have the energy and inclination
required to satisfy that need otherwise. Please understand that I’m rationally
aware of the ability to exist with non-animal sources of food, and have shared
those benefits liberally, much to the annoyance of my meat-eating friends.
At any
rate, I’ve been resisting The Call to Eat Chicken for about a year now. I’ve
been perfectly content with the planetary and personal health benefits of
eating a plant-based diet for at least twelve years! On a practical everyday
level, having a meat-free diet has meant no worry about prions (mad cow
disease, bird flu in humans); no greasy residue or rancid aromas; and, a smug
sense of satisfaction knowing our food is safer to eat because there’s minimal
risk for evil bacteria such as Salmonella or campylobacter. Let’s face it-it’s
simply not as dangerous if an organic carrot sits on the counter for a few
hours.
So how do
I know that “Eat Chicken” is really The Call? Well, at first, the message came
through Chicken Dreams: I ask my husband to order the Organic Roast Chicken
dish, so I can take a bite (without anyone seeing me of course); then, dream
scenes in which I instruct him to buy chicken, or grill it (only outside);
next, I’m at our local Co-Op quizzing the butcher about what they mean by
“free-range” and “natural organic”; I purchase the bird bits myself, before I
wake up from the dream-mare in a cold sweat.
In spite
of the dreams, of admonitions from
my Asian health practitioners, and my intuition telling me as clearly as though
it were coming through my IPhone: “Eat Chicken to build your depleted Chi”, up
until now I cringed at the idea and refused to act accordingly.
I figured,
“I’m pretty darned healthy”…except that I began having swallowing problems.
Funny, it started happening around the time the Eat Chicken Dreams Series
began…feeling like food was getting a bit stuck in my throat progressed in
frequency, accompanied by achy finger joints and eczema outbreaks, until I
completed a rigorous Elimination Diet and stopped eating soy and, ironically, eggs…
Which
brings me back to what a wise friend recently stated is the most precise way to
detect The Call:
“If you ignore The Call, the universe
will repeat the message for you. And, if you still don’t listen, you get
symptoms (to help you pay attention.)” Still, it’s hard for me to let go of the
mind set that I disciplined myself to adhere to in the past, and accept what my
body is telling me now.
One of the
things I love about Eastern philosophy is that at its purest, it prevents you
from becoming too rigid or attached to the rules you make up for yourself, even
rebuking its own rules in favor of believing in messages of inner truth:
"Do
not believe in what you have heard; do not believe in traditions because they
have been handed down for many generations; do not believe anything because it
is rumored and spoken of by many; do not believe merely because the written
statements of some old sage are produced; do not believe in conjectures; do not
believe in that as a truth to which you have become attached by habit; do not
believe merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. After observation
and analysis, when it agrees with reason and is conductive to the good and
benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it." ~ Gautama
Buddha
As I
swallow my smoothie and rub my tender fingers, I search the Internet for
restaurants serving local organic chicken, and map out the way to our local
family-owned organic chicken farm store to make my first purchase in over 12
years.
Contribute
to the Conversation: If you want
to explore The Call from both religious and secular perspectives: http://whatsyourcalling.org/about
(specific
to chicken slaughter: http://whatsyourcalling.org/campaign/what-if-your-calling-involves-a-violent-but-necessary-act)
