Where will you be when the lights go out?

Before I begin today, I want to remind you that tonight at 8:30 is Earth Hour, so remember to turn out your lights for an hour. My husband and I are already discussing what might be the best way to spend that time (I said going out to a movie was not an option!) so I look forward to hearing about the creative ways you find to spend an hour with the lights out. (Plus, given what I know about blackouts, I do have to wonder how many babies will be born 9 months from now!) For more about Earth Hour visit www.EarthHourUS.org -- and while you're surfing for green ideas, check out my cousin Debbie's blog.

Second of all (also old business) -- for those of you who responded so kindly to my Thursday whine about the Unexpected Dog exhibit -- you'll be amused to hear that I chose option 2 (God is everywhere, just follow the path) and spent the rest of Thursday playing with dog images. The results are pretty funny: I've posted them on my Picasa site for your amusement. But what is even funnier is that I met with my friend the curator for coffee yesterday and showed him my images, fully expecting him to agree that I didn't need to be in this show, and he actually LIKED them! And how bizarre is that? He did not, however, like the image I used for that post, which my friend Robin has so cleverly titled "Downward Facing Dog." Too cute!

Third of all -- also old business -- in Wednesday's post I included a link to my friend Karen's website so you could hear Eva Cassidy's incredible rendition of Over the Rainbow. If you read my comment on her post you will know after my father's death I listened repeatedly to Cassidy's recording of Fields of Gold; for over a year, every time I heard it I was moved to tears. So I went looking for a youtube video of that song, but there wasn't one of Cassidy singing it, and the others, well, the combination of those videos and that new Microsoft commercial where the little boy creates his own movie inspired me to create the video you see posted above. Because I associate the song with my father, and because my cat Pippa's recent death created an opportunity to forgive him, I have dedicated the video to her. So, YAY! I have created my first movie!

And because you have been so patient with all the business, I offer you this gift: I was reading John O'Donohue's words about calling this morning, and they were so wonderful I want to share them with you:

"The shape of each soul is different. No one else feels your life the way you do. No one else sees or hears the world as you do. The creation of the individual is a divine masterpiece. We were dreamed for a long time before we were born, our souls, minds and hearts fashioned in the divine imagination...Given the uniqueness of each of us, it should not be surprising that one of the greatest challenges is to inhabit our own individuality and to discover which life-form best expresses it.

The great law of life is: Be yourself - often a difficult task. To be yourself, you have to learn how to become who you were dreamed to be. Each person has a unique destiny. To be born is to be chosen. There is something special that each of us has to do in the world... What is it you were called to do?

...The nature of your calling can change over time, taking a person down pathways never anticipated. The calling opens new territories within the heart; this in turn deepens the calling itself. The faces of the calling change; what at the beginning seemed simple and clear can become ambivalent and complex as it unfolds. To develop a heart that is generous and equal to this complexity is the continual challenge of growth. This is the creative tension that dwells at the heart of vocation. One is urged and coaxed beyond the pale regions into rich territories of risk and promise.

...It is such a relief and joy to find the calling that expresses and incarnates your spirit. When you find that you are doing what you love, what you were brought here to do, it makes for a rich and contented life. You have come into rhthm with your longing. Your work and action emerge naturally; you don't have to force yourself. Your energy is immediate. Your passion is clear and creative. A new calling can open the door into the house of vision and belonging. You feel at home in your life, heart and hearth at one."

Interestingly enough, he begins this meditation on calling by saying "As we get older, time seems to speed up. The sense of transience haunts nearly every heart. You feel that you could suddenly arrive at your last day incredulous that that was it; it was all over."

So in effect, he was asking the same question they're asking at EarthHour.org, and so, I ask it again of you:

Where will you be when the lights go out?

NOTE: All John O'Donohue quotations are from his wonderful book of blessings, To Bless the Space Between Us (© John O’Donohue. All rights reserved). To learn more about John O'Donohue, be sure to visit his website: www.johnodonohue.com