Finding Gifts in the Space Between
This week on the Higher Purpose Podcast I had the pleasure of being joined by Thomas Winninger, who is currently promoting his new book Your True DNA which is going to be released on October 24th of this year.Thom is a modern-day philosopher whose work is deeply informed by his faith, and we had an absolutely eye-opening conversation about what it means to understand your divinely provided gift and have it be a powerful force in your life.I invite you to listen to the full interview, but first I want to explore one idea Thom mentioned that really caught my imagination.That idea is liminal space.Liminal means relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process; the space in between one thing and another.In our lives, this can be the times in between events or jobs or relationships – that unsettled time in between the end of one thing and the beginning of something else. Often these are times filled with fear or regret, and we get tempted to try and minimize or avoid them all together.We avoid them by hanging on to things after they stop serving us, or racing from one relationship to the next, or having so many different things to occupy us that there’s no time to reflect on what has happened or what might happen next.That’s a feeling you can recognize, isn’t it? The discomfort that comes from a shift from one thing to another, and uncertainty about whether we made the right decisions to get to this place, or will be able to make the right choices moving forward.Sitting with discomfort is never easy.Thom however, posits that these liminal spaces are valuable - even critical - to our growth and development as people. Without taking the time provided by liminal space to really consider what is happening and why, and what we want to happen next we never have the time to really identify what our true gift is and how we can be using it in our lives. Even if it’s hard, or hurts or is frightening. Tragedy can wake us up to reality in a way that comfort can’t.This idea is expressed by people from all industries and walks of life; Dan Miller, who we had on the podcast earlier this year makes room for new growth and ideas by eliminating (do you see the root word there?) 15% of his business activities each year to conscientiously create the space for change. Nature works the same way, when lightning strikes cause the fires that remove old growth and make a place for new saplings.Liminal space is so fundamental to finding happiness, joy and fulfilment that it’s a natural part of the world, and we are mistaken to try and remove it from our lives, or avoid it all together.That’s something I would like to invite you to reflect on this week – when is the last time you experienced liminal space, and what did you find out about your life or your gift?This was just one of the many topics we touched on in interview – some of the others were:
- How your gift gives you energy, and when you stray from it is when you get bogged down or lose motivation.
- How to identify your gift if you aren’t sure what it is, or what it could be.
- The difference between possibilities and opportunities.
And of course – you should absolutely get yourself a copy of Thom’s Book – Your True DNA – before October 24th it’s available for free (pay only shipping fees) as a pre-order. I can say honestly that this is an important and powerful book, so if any of this has interested you at all, go to YourTrueDNA.com and get a copy.Over on the Facebook Group this week, we're going to be talking about how it's neither Success nor Failure that defines us. It’s not the road to meaning, or to purpose. Purpose is found in the discovery of your gift. What is your gift, and how does it define you? I invite you to come and join the conversation.