By Sarah McCrum and originally published at https://sarahmccrum.com/so-far-its-working/
Earlier this week I wrote a blog about my search for joy in business. And I genuinely meant joy, rather than enjoyment or happiness.
I found myself being offered a question: “What if business is a sacred activity?”
I’ve now had all of two days to explore this, so it’s premature to come to any conclusions, but it’s been such a heart and mind-opening experience that I want to share what’s going on.
Each time I think about what I need to do today, I remind myself that it’s all sacred activity. There’s an instant response in my energy. It’s something like a huge inner smile + easy gentle relaxation + expansion + knowing that any challenge can be met gracefully this way.
It seems like it’s transmissible, because I’ve seen tangible financial and other business results drop into place very cleanly.
It’s like a secret that doesn’t need to be kept. It’s far better shared. I can already feel the sheer joy of the sacred economy, where wisdom and appreciation of life guide decision-making.
Some people feel unsure about the word sacred. It has religious undertones that have left bad memories. It can remind people of heavy ritual and ominous obligations to a God who might punish you if you get it wrong.
I’m trying to bring people back to a deeper, more truthful and lighter meaning of sacred. For me, it helps to reflect on the sacredness of life. It’s that unspeakable, indescribable aspect of life that leaves me in awe and wonder at the beauty and the mystery. It makes me feel very open and tender towards life and also towards myself as a part of life.
You could ask yourself, “What do you hold most sacred in your life?” It might be a relationship, a person, an experience, a spiritual activity or something quite different.
Once you have that feeling of sacredness, see what happens when you apply it to the activity of business.
It’s changing my relationship with life and nature already. I wasn’t aware that I saw business as an activity that was taking place outside of or separate from nature. When I experience it as a sacred activity I feel that I and my business are a part of nature. Inside it. Business is a natural part of human activity, just like bees collect nectar and plants produce leaves and flowers.
This is such a huge relief. It feels like business and commerce have found their right place in life for the first time, for me. Before, I had money in a beautiful place, as a result of writing and learning from my book, Love Money, Money Loves You. But I always felt some kind of subtle unease or disconnect around business.
That’s been gone now for two days.
Want to explore more deeply?
Video series: Find Your Leading Edge
Sarah’s book: Love Money, Money Loves You
Ebook: The Gamechanger’s Journey
Podcast: A Simple Bloke in Business
Republished with permission. Featured
Aligned! Anne Wilson Schaeff: “Work is sacred. It is not just a way to earn money or gain power, though it may result in both. Work is a vehicle for testing out our gifts and talents and using them to explore their meaning. Work is a process of self-expression, trial and error learning, creativity, and risk taking. No matter what kind of job we have, work always has these potentials. Work is spiritual. It is a place where we have the opportunity for spiritual growth. Often these opportunities come from the “how” of the ways we do our work rather than the “what” of the work itself. Regardless of what our work is, we can enjoy it. And it is most enjoyable when balanced with other aspects of our life and not a tyrant.”
It is so very true! Thank you for expressing it directly. I never said it in words, but your words resonate within me – this is how it is!
I have for a long time been an independent consultant – a part of my spiritual way due to the possibilities of doing what I want the most. By the lock-down I experienced an enormous relief, when I let go of my consultant-identity – there were no customers, no consultants needed. I can be myself – be Lise. That’s the important purpose of my life. Being me is about CoCreating: be fully present, listen, share my perspective, do what I am called to do – and not do all that other stuff. THANK YOU Sarah McCrum, Anne Wilson Schaeff, and Alia.