Like most of us, Cheryl was searching. She was searching to find herself, her “home.” But she got lost along the way.
When a promotion at work made her more depressed rather than less, Cheryl went on an antidepressant. It helped with her sleep and gave her more energy. But it also allowed her to tolerate a job she really didn’t like. “That’s why I got depressed in the first place,” she reflected, “and why the depression just got worse when I got promoted. Deep down, I didn’t like what I was doing, but I didn’t want to admit this. The medication made my job doable, but I felt like I was a thousand miles from my home.”
So much of modern life stresses quickness and expediency. We want to take the shortest distance between our problems and their solutions, between our symptoms and their disappearance. We tend to equate symptom relief with healing, yet they are not the same. Real healing means to move towards wholeness. And you don’t become whole by moving away from your soul.
“I’m getting closer to my home,” is an uplifting verse in the Grand Funk Railroad song, “I’m Your Captain.” The song is about a man’s journey to find his spiritual home. When you follow your destiny you come closer to your home, your soul, and there is nothing more important in life than this. It is this path that develops your unique gifts and potential, brings you into relationship with those you are meant to be with, and fills your life with passion and purpose. When you make decisions in your life, the most important question you need to ask is: “which path will bring me closer to my home?” When you determine that path, follow it.
Grand Funk Railroad “I’m Getting Closer to my Home” Youtube video courtesy of TIJ188.