Roles

I watched someone try to do something they were qualified to do.  Even with coaching, encouragement, and instruction, you could see that they did not enjoy the role.  In hindsight, I knew there was a problem early on.  For reasons I am still struggling to understand, I did not do anything.  I did not intervene.  I did not call the picture as I saw it.  I let a problem continue far longer than it needed to.  In the end, I am not sure any purpose was served.
Far too often, I see people striving in ways inconsistent with their calling.  When I ask, I find myself listening to answers filled with expectations, guilt, and trying to please someone.  In contrast, I listened to two guitarists jam with a blues band.  The contrast was extraordinary!  They loved what they were doing.  You could feel their emotions flowing in the sound and it was magical.  With borrowed instruments, their pay was the response from other band members and the audience.  If was a special moment of giving, receiving, and being part of a community bound by an unique expression of joy, sorrow, and hope.
Finding and responding to the calling we have in life is a priority we should take seriously.  It is something that has transcended our forefather's generations.  In one case, “the Twelve called a meeting of the disciples.  They said, “It wouldn't be right for us to abandon our responsibilities for preaching and teaching the Word of God to help with the care of the poor.” (Acts 6.2, 3)  They knew their calling, yet they also knew they existed in a larger community. 
As I start the day, I know I am part of a community.  I have a role to play.  I also have a responsibility to my community.  Discovering one's role and still being an active, engaged, and trustworthy member is a high calling worthy of our attention, patience, and dedication.  Neither is exclusive.  Both are integral to what it means to be fully and completely alive.  Walking holistically involves our total being.