Prosper Where God Puts You

We all search for identity and purpose in life and sometimes we get lost and confused as to what we should be doing to not only make a living but to make a life.  One thing that has guided my way throughout the various stages of my career has been to understand my context.  When we take some time to contemplate our important moments in life and the themes that resonate with us, we can see a thread connecting them.  There may be several themes that are apparent but rest assured there is always some type of continuity or connecting thread that traces our life path.  This one idea or set of ideas is your true purpose. 

For me I’ve always had a variety of interests and have seemed at least to myself to have been all over the map.  Yet by taking a broader view I understood that these interests were connected.  My father is an Episcopal minister and I come from a family of educators, jazz musicians, artists, and scientists.   I embraced these aspects of my lineage and I have composed a version of the Episcopal liturgy called “A Jazz Mass” thus honoring my father’s legacy.  I also have been teaching for almost 20 years now and have been performing with my jazz group for exactly 20 years.  I still draw and have a keen interest in science and religion which I relate to others on this blog.  In these ways I have honored my ancestors and continued their legacy. 

When I was in college I was encouraged by my professors to learn my heritage so I could know where I came from.  Now I know that it is important to know your past to understand your present so you can prepare for your future. 

There is a Biblical story about three men who were given talents (money, but also a play on a word for skill).  One went and hid his in the ground the other turned his into a profit and still another turned his into an even greater profit.  When the master came and asked the men what they did with their talents he found out what they had done.  The one who hid his said he was protecting it.  The others of course said that they multiplied their talents. The one who hid his talent was summarily thrown out. 

This allegory illustrates how we all need to use our talents and treasure to increase ourselves and those around us. We’ve been gifted this wonderful life with the family and background that we have, we need to make something of it.  How we go about doing that is by looking at the careers of those in our lineage and then our own experiences and come up with a path that incorporates our abilities as well as our ancestral gifts.  Our DNA contains the memories and the talents of our ancestors thus we can use that knowledge to increase our life many times over.  Instead of glossing over our history we need to learn from it and become that much stronger.  Prosper where God puts you and you will indeed be able to present to the Master when He appears, your bounty that has been multiplied.

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