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Don’t let the title of scare you. The Great Work of Your Life
‘Dharma is a Sanskrit word that means, variously – path, teaching, or law. For the purposes of this book, it means vocation or sacred duty, but most of all, truth. Our greatest responsibility in life is to this inner possibility.”
Cope cites several examples of ordinary and extraordinary lives that show how this process of discovery plays out. These are people whose lives were/are “lit up.” They know their own genius and put it out into the world.
Here are some of my favorite quotes and discoveries from the book.
‘People actually feel happiest and most fulfilled when meeting the challenge of their dharma in the world, when bringing highly concentrated effort to some compelling activity for which they have a true calling.”
Doubt often keeps us from our calling. In yogic analysis, doubt is called the paralyzing affliction. Here are some ways that doubt keeps us from our dharma.
Fear of closing the door – we are on a comfortable path, we are making a difference, yet we have a vision for something new. We are afraid to close the door on what we are doing now.
Denial of dharma – we downplay our calling, not really seeing it as anything important, so we don’t name it or own it.
The problem of aim – we are successful and operating close to our dharma, but we’re still on the outskirts, not in the center of it.
Principles for Discovering and Following your Dharma
1. Trust in the gift.
It is who you really are, your essential nature – not who you want to be. The seeds are already planted. Jane Goodall, one of the world’s leading primatologists, is the illustrious example here. How did she discover her calling? Well, she was drawn to animals and the natural world from an early age and luckily for her, her parents “named, celebrated, cherished, and nurtured her gifts.” Hers is a fascinating story, well worth reading.
2. Think of the small as large.
Acclaimed writer, naturalist, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau is the prime example here. Thoreau was not acclaimed in his time. In fact, according to Cope he was seen as a loser by his family and his town. Thoreau tried to fit in – he looked for fame as a writer in New York City. His failure there forced him to examine who he really was. He longed for the woods of Concord and finally came home.
“One should be always on the trail of one’s own deepest nature. For it is the fearless living out of your own essential nature that connects you to the Divine.” ~ Thoreau
One of the biggest downfalls in discovering our calling is the attempt to be big – to be more than who we are. Once Thoreau found this balance, his writing exploded. Cope says that the two biggest enemies of dharma are grandiosity, and its flip side, devaluing.
3. Listen for the call of the times.
Our calling always fits with what’s needed for the times. Walt Whitman, another well-known writer, is a perfect example. He lived from 1819 to 1892 and, like Thoreau, his work was controversial. His truest calling (we can have many) was found as a volunteer during the Civil War. Whitman visited thousands of sick and dying soldiers, bringing them gifts as well as his spirit. This work began by noticing what drew his interest and then going with it. He saw what the war had done, he named it and through his actions, grieved for all those affected by the war. The gift must always be put in the service of the times. Fulfillment happens not in retreat from the world, but in advance – and profound engagement.
More Thoughts on Callings
It’s important to create the right conditions for the gift to blossom. Everything in your life must be unified around your dharma. Everything superfluous must go.
Commit yourself to your gift. For example, Susan B. Anthony chose social action, particularly temperance reform, over marriage.
Become a master of your gift. A certain amount of sustained effort or deliberate practice is required. Painter Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot was determined to master the light of Italy. The quality of his practice is what made him stand out from other painters of the day.
“Deliberate practice is really a kind of sophisticated attentional training. It bears fruit when attention begins to penetrate the object of its interest in an entirely new way.”
Let go of the fruits of your gift. Grasping a certain outcome only leads to distortion of the gift. Writer John Keats was well aware of this principle.
‘Success and failure, light and shade, praise and blame, are all parts of life. Beauty can be revealed through sorrow and through life’s losses. Better to surrender to the endless richness of the moment, whatever that brings. Embrace both sides of life.”
When difficulties arise, see them as dharma. Callings change. And we need to know when to close the book on one calling and pursue another.
Marion Woodman is one of the world’s leading Jungian analysts and teachers. One would say she had definitely found her calling, but she was suddenly struck with cancer. What did she do? She saw it as her new dharma. She didn’t declare war on it, but instead invited it in to see what she could do with it, and what it would make of her. She knew that it would transform her and that she would do something with the experience. Woodman survived her cancer and lived to write about it. She puts it as “dying into life.”
Turn your wounds into light. Often, our dharma can be found in our fears and our deepest wounds.
Beethoven was someone who lived a very unhappy life, but turned his wounds into beautiful music. His dharma did not end his suffering, but transformed it. He knew that surrendering to his suffering was essential to creating his art.
Dharma is about knowing when to act, and when not to act. Harriet Tubman, the force behind the Underground Railroad, is an example of this kind of knowing. Being born into slavery was the suffering she endured that helped her transform. She knew that freedom was necessary not just for herself, but for all. By tuning into her inner guidance system, she was able to successfully bring fugitives to freedom.
The final story in the book is about taking yourself to zero and the example is one of my greatest heroes – Gandhi. As a lawyer in South Africa, Gandhi discovered his true calling – “to heal separation wherever he found it.” From that point on, he lived his life for others. This quote really struck home with me.
‘If you don’t find your work in the world and throw yourself wholeheartedly into it, you will inevitably make your self your work. There’s no way around it: You will take your self as your primary project. You will, in the very best case, dedicate your life to the perfection of your self – your health, intelligence, beauty, home, or even spiritual prowess. And the problem is simply this: This self-dedication is too small a work. It inevitably becomes a prison.”
There’s so much more to this book and so many great examples. I didn’t even cover any of the ordinary and inspiring lives. I highly recommend The Great Work of Your Life
Thank you for sharing your review of ‘The Great Work of Your Life’, and especially the final quote. Once again, a thought-provoking topic. I think people focus on themselves often because of the idea of ‘gifts’, ‘talents’ and ‘mastery’ being associated with rarity. We won’t all be famous (and not all of us want to be) but it’s encouraging to think we all have a calling.
I think you have to focus on yourself to some extent in order to discover your calling. But then you have to put it to work as your contribution to the world. In that sense, a true calling always has some contribution to make.