Have you ever had a day where you wished you could hit the restart button? I mean a day that you could start over from the moment you opened your eyes, pulled back the covers, and placed one foot on the ground. If we are honest with ourselves, all of us can identify with that feeling and hidden desire. That day was yesterday for me.
I have a consistent morning routine. It begins with making a cup of green tea. While waiting for the water to boil, I perform a set of pushups and crunches. After the tea is ready, I place a saucer on top of my mug so the tea can brew. While the tea is brewing, I walk to my quiet corner of the living room where my yoga mat is waiting on the floor for me to meditate and pray. This brief mind and spirit time prepares me for my first task of the day, which includes a form of writing.
I always begin my day with writing for a minimum of five minutes in my journal. Each entry includes acknowledging the people, things, and experiences I am grateful for in the life that I am blessed to live. After this exercise in my journal, I proceed to focus on larger writing projects that can include blogs, articles, or book chapters. This routine often guides my time in the morning. However, yesterday stretched me as one of my life’s callings had other plans for this part of the day.
In Jeff Goins’ book, “The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do,” he presents the idea that our life’s work, or calling, does not always fit into single and conventional categories. We often attempt to identify our calling by an occupation, hobby, familial role, or passion. However, Goins suggests that for some people their life’s calling is not simply one thing, but often a combination of interests, skills, professional and personal roles. In his case, which is similar to mine, his calling includes his role as a father, his work as a writer, his speaking engagements, and his online entrepreneurial activities.
Yesterday, my calling as a father is what caused me to wish that I could hit the restart button.
My three year old came downstairs a full hour before the time he usually gets out of bed. He had an accident and needed new underwear. I was not disturbed by his presence or the need to fulfill my father responsibilities; I was concerned that my day would not offer another opportunity to write.
I love my children and like other parents who have small active children, I also really enjoy moments of silence! I am the father of three beautiful and wonderful children who are ages six, five, and three. In July of 2016, my wife and I made the decision to leave the United States and live in Mexico, because we wanted to be more mindful of the needs of our children.
With the responsibilities and time requirements to maintain a full-time job and business, we found it difficult to meet our monthly financial demands and fully adhere to our children’s socioemotional needs. We made the jump to live abroad to minimize our monthly expenses, give our family more mindful attention, and to pursue work in alignment with our callings.
I appreciate waking up early in the morning for the time it allows me to gain peace of mind and to start my day with consistent positive activities. On most days before the sun rises, I am often able to gather my thoughts through writing before my responsibilities as a father, partner, and entrepreneur begin. The move to Mexico has taught me the invaluable impact that early morning starts can have on my work.
In these mornings on the other side of Trump’s proposed wall, I have discovered several callings for my life. I believe I have been called to serve as a partner to my wife, father to my children, writer, family vlogger, business and education consultant, and Capoeira teacher.
All of my talents, skills, and interests are guided by my two most important callings as a partner to an incredible woman and the father to three outstanding children. Yesterday, when my three-year-old woke up prematurely and needed my attention, I jumped to declare a ruined day.
Later in the afternoon, my wife and I managed to create a miracle and get all three children down for a nap at the same time! While they slept, I regained my writing time that I missed in the morning, and it felt like my day restarted through my calling as a writer.
The move to Mexico has taught me that there are multiple callings placed on my life. Occasionally these callings communicate with each other. It is my responsibility to be patient and listen. Things may not always follow a well-planned out routine, but they ultimately will work out in favor of our life’s work.