Spark Your Mission, Spark Your Work, Spark Your Life With Rev. Darrell Jones
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DESCRIPTION
How might your life’s focus shift if you operated from a mission statement? What would a personal mission spark and ignite in your work and business, health and wellness, relationships and more? Join us this Sunday as we explore your personal mission to spark greater purpose, passion and power in your life.
SUMMARY
In this transcript, Rev. Rod discusses the importance of trusting the process and not putting a time limit on it. They mention the presence of unconscious filters that affect how they view people and situations. The speakers emphasize the need to adjust these filters and trust in the process of life. They express gratitude for life, joy, peace, and the presence of God within them.
TRANSCRIPTION
This transcription was auto-generated, please excuse typos, errors and omissions
Rev. Darrell Jones (00:01):
So the question is, are you sweeping up your own side of the street? Are you trying to tell everybody else how to clean up their side of the street? Here’s the cool thing. As Paige and the band was singing that song I thought about, okay, so it’s my side of the street, but other people walk down it, right? So if we truly do take care of our side of the street and that’s happening around the planet, then we just have cleanliness. We just have space. So thanks for that song. Got the head spin in there. My talk title today is Spark your Mission, spark your Work, spark Your Life. Now, how many of you consider yourself an activist?
(00:50):
Okay. Some people are kind of like, yeah, sometimes. My hope today is that by the end of this talk, everyone’s hand will go up. That there isn’t really a choice to be an activist or not. That your living is your activism. Yes, everyone have something to write with. Everyone have something to write on because we’re going to do a little process at some point. You can use something electronic. It doesn’t have to be old school, analog pen and paper, but I’m old school folks, how might your life’s focus? Well, people online, hi, love you, not an opportunity to multitask. Be present.
(01:43):
Let go of all the other things. Be here for what your heart needs to receive today. So how might your life’s focus shift if you operated from a mission statement? Anyone work for an organization that has a mission statement? Do you have a mission statement? Some of us may kind of like, yeah, yeah, maybe we haven’t visited in a while, but just check in with yourself. How might the focus of your life not changing what you do, just how you look at it, how you interact with it, how would that shift if you were living from your personal mission statement?
(02:28):
Would it spark or ignite in your business, in your choices for self when it comes to health in wellness, your relationships, whether it’s personal, family, love, interest. I want to come back to the reading because I don’t know if everyone got it. We were hustling and bustling talking about what we are enjoying over the summer. I love to be in the water, by the way, that’s my jam. When it goes above 70 degrees, all I want to do is swim all day. Take a deep breath in and hear these words. There is something to be said for spending time figuring out how to declare what you stand for based on your values and clarifying what you hope your legacy will be. Does anyone really think about what their legacy will be? Sometimes it can get a little morbid for people. They don’t want to think about that, but what is it that you are going to leave behind? What are you impacting beyond your tenure on the planet? This declaration can serve as a reminder, a guide for your decisions and a tool to discern which opportunities to accept and which ones to decline. It acts as a spark to ignite your own activism journey. Does anyone know the phrase hemming and hawing?
Audience (03:54):
Yes.
Rev. Darrell Jones (03:57):
Is anyone hemming and hawing in their life right now? Okay, so if you are not familiar with this term, someone asks you a question, you’re kind of caught off guard, and so you might clear your throat and go, well, yes, maybe, no. What I think is best is if we all came together and if the time was right and you’re just kind of making a bunch of statements and you’re not really declaring anything at all, that’s one way of hemming and hawing. Or maybe you’re being faced with a significant decision in your life, whether to move, whether to say yes to an interview, whether to accept a new job, go on a first date, a second date or more with this person. You find yourself going back and forth. If I say yes, this might happen, and if I say no, this might happen, I’m going to say yes, but what if no is right? Hemming and hawing back and forth the seesaw. This is the practice. It is a practice. Think about that for a moment. The more and more we do it, we’re practicing something. So the more and more we do this, we are practicing being indecisive. We are practicing disempowering ourselves. We go back and forth to no avail. We don’t really get anywhere. Some people call it spinning your wheels.
(05:29):
We find ourselves caught here and it’s caught in uncertainty, but I like to call it unrightly as opposed to uncertainty. Most of the time, I would argue if we really sat down and got some stuff out of your head and onto the page and wrote what’s important in your life, you would know for certain what it is that you want. You know what you want, your desires, your goals, and I would dare say you even know what your purpose is in life, but we want to get it right. So instead of uncertainty, that’s the energy of he and haw. We know what is right ultimately, but we want it to be perfect. Any type a perfectionist in the room, my hand’s up, I hear you. Most of the time, we will actually never know what is right until we choose something. That’s part of the process of coming to right.
(06:41):
We are very, very certain of our values, our mission, our purpose, and our desires, but we want affirmation and confirmation that all of that is right and usually we’re looking outside of ourselves, cannot get a name. Anyone been looking outside of themselves this week for affirmation that what you’re doing, how you’re choosing what you’re saying yes and no to is right in their eyes. There’s nothing wrong with that. We live in community. Take a look around. You’re in community right now, so we have to be considerate. The biggest takeaway from this book, so the focus this month is the Light Makers Manifesto by Karen Walrod. If you have not read this book, get it. It is rocking my world in an amazing way. The biggest takeaway though, from the section that I’m focusing on this week is that we must be courageous enough to accept what we actually know or what we have an impetus for in ourselves. It takes courage to do that because oftentimes what we want for ourselves, what we know is right, what we want to activate in the world, what we want to value, what we want to hold up as priority may not be someone else’s, and that’s okay.
(08:06):
We must be courageous enough to accept what we actually know. The author posits that if we really allow ourselves to get clear and embrace our own personal ethic, our personal mission, our or reason for being, then either the hemming and hawing will start to fall away, or at least we’ll have a relationship with. It will have a tool that will bring us into clarity with that hemming and hawing, the doubt, the uncertainty, the fear, the worry. How many of you would like a guidepost to help you navigate some of those weird turns that are happening right now? Alright, get to it. If you are new to the book and to the focus this month, the Light Makers manifested by Karen Wall Run is the centerpiece of what we’re working from, but it’s all the same spiritual principle. So that’s what we work from here in this community is spiritual principle. It’s something that doesn’t change. A principle is just a principle is just a principle. It’s just a principle. We have to have a relationship to it and realize how we’re working it. But let’s just break down this title of the book for a minute. The Light Makers Manifesto, what? I get the chills saying it First, light maker. Now, so often we refer to ourselves as lightworkers, right? Any lightworkers in the house? Just five of us. Okay? Highlight workers.
(09:45):
We refer to other people that do good in the world as lightworkers. They’re working the light of God. They’re working the light of love, of wholeness, of spirituality, of the divine, of the universal presence, working with what already exists, right? I love that notion. I consider myself a lightworker, and this title is radical. It’s empowering not a light worker, but a light maker. We don’t only work the light that exists, but we are the origin point of light itself. What, when was the last time you referred to yourself as a light maker? Just that if you walk away with nothing else, try spending your week waking up and saying, good morning, light maker. How am I going to make some light today? That is going to put you in a different relationship with everything you do. You don’t need to change anything on your calendar. You don’t need to go out and buy a new outfit. You don’t need to change anything. Just what if you woke up tomorrow and said, hi, I’m going to make some light today.
(11:14):
Then there’s the manifesto. Now, unfortunately, most of the time manifestos arise when something bad happens. At least in the media it does, right? This person had a manifesto for what they’re against, but a manifesto is not about condemnation and killing. A manifesto is just a declaration of what you believe, what you stand for, and what you work from. So as a light maker to have a manifesto, life’s about to get interesting. If we are all light makers, then what Karen Waldron is challenging us when the book is to create our own manifesto, declaring our personal policies, views, motives and intentions for living, not just for activism, not just for activism, but for living, period.
(12:08):
If we really embrace a personal light maker manifesto, then we will have the gauge. Now, oftentimes I don’t use a capital T. I always say there’s a way I am really passionate about this. I think this is the gauge, capital T, capital H, capital E, the gauge that will help a spark brilliance everywhere that we go, whether it’s walking into Starbucks, walking into this room, getting in your car, tying your shoe, and this is where I am in our talk today. If we really embrace a personal light maker manifesto, then we will have this gauge, this thing that will help us navigate life, spark your mission and let it spark and fuel your work. Let it spark and fuel your living. All of it ideally is connected, but we walk around like, this is what I do at work. This is what I do with them.
(13:12):
This is what I do with them. There’s a common denominator there. You so own that spark that you take everywhere you go. The section of the book that I’m focusing on today is called Spark. Hence the talk title, spark your mission, spark your work, spark your life. The author gives lots of different practices to fan the flame or to grow this mission, this spark in your life. She talks about mind mapping. Some of you may have done that before. Mission statement writing, which we’re going to dance around a little bit today. Star chart, active listening, intention, setting your soul come into your spirit, come into your mind, come into your body, come into all the dimensions that you are, and without too much thinking, let spirit speak to you. I want you to write down three names of people that you hold in high regard. Don’t edit. Just write down those three people, the first ones that come in, the people that you respect, the people that you value, their personality. Just three overachievers. You don’t need to do more, just three. If you’ve got three, stop. If you’re still writing, it’s okay. And what I want you to do is to pull out one or two qualities, one or two things that you value about that person, okay? Again, don’t overthink it too much.
(16:22):
What is it that you respect or hold dear about these people? So these three people, you know what? It doesn’t even matter really who they are. It doesn’t matter what they do. What matters is what they ignite in you. The value, the essence of who they are and what you value about them is ultimately reflecting what it is that you are here to bring into the world. Can you see that? Do you feel that the light that they are making in the world is shimmering? It’s igniting. It’s sparking the light that you are here to bring to the world. Do you see the spark of your personal mission? Maybe it’s coming forward, how it can help you tomorrow with the next conversation that you may have, the next decision, even how you prepare your next meal. Let me give you just a quick example of the exercise that I went through for me, and I hope that through my sharing you’ll be able to connect some things for you. So the three that came up for me was, first it was my father, Reverend, Dr. Robert E. Jones. Minister, then was Reverend Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith. And then last was Reverend Aimee Daniels. And here’s why. Here’s the thing that popped up for me. My father cared for community, whether it was a religious community or not, he was interested in the neighbors that he walked down the street with. He kept his side of the street clean, but he also walked around everyone else’s and made sure everyone was okay.
(18:12):
Michael Beckwith, he is all about spiritual care. All he wants you to do is have a connection with spirit in your life and nurture it through spiritual practice day in and day out. And he’s constantly inviting people into that practice and refashioning different ways of being in that practice. And then Reverend Aimee, you care for organizations, whether it’s supporting leaders, whether it’s getting all the people around and this community to make sure things are well, the common factor, community care was my father. Spiritual care was Michael Beckwith. Organizational care was Aimee. Care is the common thread. That is the thing that I hold most high. That is the value for me. This is what I hold as my highest value, mission, and purpose in life. Now, I’ve always said when I first stepped into being a practitioner, that I am here to love and be loved, and I will never stop saying that, and it hasn’t changed. But the result of reading this book and doing some of the exercises in it is that this is expanded. I’ve come to realize that the unique way that I bring my purpose into living is through care and caring. That’s what I do. That’s my jam. I love to care about people.
(19:40):
One of my personality profiles is literally care – caregiver, and I do it like no one else does, and I’m not saying that to be bold and braggadocious, and it’s just like, wow, if I really step into the power that my purpose on the planet is to care, then everything that I do, holy moly. I had some dinner with family the other day. I love to cook. I love to be in the kitchen. And I realized that’s one of the ways I like to care for people. I want to give them good food. And so I made a decision between organic or conventional strawberries. I went with the organic because I love my family. And then I was sitting there, and you may not slow down this much in your life, but I just want to share with you, this is what Darrell does when he’s working on a talk.
(20:31):
He stops in the middle of doing things and he goes, whoa, how does this apply to my talk? I’m sitting there cutting strawberries and I’m choosing between do I cut half or do I cut them in quarters and I want to cut them in quarters because I care, because I want people to have the perfect bite of homemade strawberry cheesecake or what did I make – a shortcake? If they’re cut in half, they’re too big. You can’t get it on your spoon the right way. But if they’re cut in quarters, you might get two or even three bites. That said, do you see what I’m saying? The care that I wanted to bring was impacting how I was choosing to cut fruit. Now, you may be like, well, okay, but just step back for a minute. That is a small, minuscule component of what we do in the day.
(21:19):
What if we paused before we answered the phone or we choose to call someone whether we want to make the phone call or not. You probably have to make the phone call. Those phone calls. Anyone have to make any of those this coming week. So you’ve got to make that phone call. It’s not a question of if you do or if you don’t. What if you bring your purpose and mission to that phone call, even if the person on the other line is dropping F-bombs and just doing all sorts of crazy stuff. What if you bring your light to that?
(21:54):
When I look at my work and what I’ve done over the years, what I am currently engaged in, it’s all about care and caring. And to tell you the truth, up until reading that I kind of forgot. I was just going by doing the things that I do. Now, the caring was still there. It was undergirding me. But when we bring this idea back into the forefront of our consciousness, this is where we get into principle folks, when our attention is present to what we are actually doing and why we’re doing it and the purpose and the mission of our living, then it completely changes our relationship to anything that we’re doing.
(22:35):
So whether I’m doing work for the greater CSL organization, whether I’m speaking here on Sunday, whether I’m cutting strawberries to make dessert for my family, whether I am going for a walk to care for me, I’m learning now that I can use just that word care. I can just say that word care inside my head and immediately softens any of the hard, rough edges of the should. Wood could blame and all those, not that they’re bad things, but they’re hard things to hold all the time. This is not only a mission. This is not just a mission. This is what I am an activist for. To bring it back to that word, activism. I am an activist for care. It’s not about a specific issue. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be engaged with certain issues. Please, the thing that fires your heart and you want to get out and march and talk to people about do that and what comes before that. This is how I act. This is how I bring my purpose and mission. This is how I make light in the world through caring. So my manifesto is I am here to bring light, period,
(24:00):
Not when or if I am here to bring light.
(24:08):
I have found a new edge of myself, probably the sharpest edge, yet of my understanding of who I am here to be and what I am to do. Am I done with my personal work? Oh, no. Darryl’s got a lot of learning and growth by all means. And I plan to for the rest of my time in this body to continue to be a student of spirit and of life. But there’s a sharp edge that I have right now, so I’ll go back to that cutting analogy. Those of you who are in the kitchen, when you work with a dull knife, you can still get the job done, but whenever you get it sharpened, woo, it’s a whole new experience. Maybe you’re not a cook. Anyone run or swim or you roller skate or roller blade. When you get new gear, when you get new equipment, you get some new shoes.
(25:01):
Forget about exercise. Anyone. Just get a new item of clothing. When you put that on and you really like it and it feels good, all of a sudden you hold yourself differently. You step out into your day in a new way. If you could put on your mission and purpose every day, you would have that sharp edge. You would have that uplifted feeling, whatever it is, and I hope and pray that you do feel a new edge today, a new sharpness, an expanded sense of yourself and your purpose in this life, so that we can be that much more informed by spirit. Bringing our light, making light, not just work and what’s there, but generating. Look back at your paper. Look back at what you wrote down. Reconnect to those people and reconnect to the qualities, to the values that you had of them. Repeat after me.
(26:01):
May my outer life.
(26:02):
Audience May my outer life
(26:04):
Be governed by my inner light.
Audience (26:07):
Be governed by my inner light.
Rev. Darrell Jones (26:08):
May, my outer life.
(26:11):
May my outer light
(26:12):
Be governed by my inner light
Audience (26:15):
Be governed by my inner life.
Rev. Darrell Jones (26:17):
Take that in for a minute. Think about governance. Let go of all the election BS that’s happening right now. Govern your light, govern your heart, mind, body and spirit. Let that be the thing that governs your outer experience. Let that be the thing that you cultivate on a regular basis through your spiritual practice. Who is ready to be a new light maker in this world? Who is here and ready to generate light? Not take it, not get it. And here’s the thing, you won’t be depleted. This is what I think Karen Wal run is really trying to encourage us, is that there’s often this only one way of our light going out. We give it away. Give your heart away, give your light away, but realize if it’s coming from that space of purpose and mission, then as you give it away, all you’re doing is just making space for more. This is where the joy gets to come in.
(27:29):
You don’t come home at the end of the day, oh my God, these people are just taking my joy. If I have to one more time. Now, our human experience is still going to experience that. I know I do, but then I go care. Oh. Oh, alright, so maybe I didn’t do a great job of caring today, and probably I didn’t do a great job of caring for myself today. That’s why I feel depleted. Let me get back in alignment with my purpose. Let me do something to remember why I’m here, not because of what people are or aren’t doing, but why I am here letting my inner light govern my external experience. Let’s take this into prayer. Take a deep breath in. Bring your hand to your heart. May our outer life be governed by our inner light. May our outer life be governed by our inner light. May our outer life be governed by our inner light. What I affirm and know, however, is that there is no outer or inner. There just is what we see out in the world is still a part of us. It is not separate from our inner light. So our inner light is our outer life. Our outer life is our inner light. It is circling and spiraling and moving together, and the connective tissue is your consciousness and attention. So may we all this week, not only let our inner light govern our external experience, may our consciousness may our minds, may our hearts, may the words that we speak inside as well as outside be declarations, be manifestos of our purpose.
(29:27):
Connect to that word, to that essence, to that value. Welcome it, cherish it, care for it. May it be the gauge for anything and all things that you navigate in this upcoming week, and not only this week, but for the rest of your life from this moment forward. What I declare and know is that the light maker that you are is enough. The light making machine that you bring into the presence of this very room is enough. So embrace your enoughness and may it guide you. May the value of your enoughness be the thing that changes the world. I’m so grateful for all of the light makers in the room and beyond knowing that we are here to bring our light into everything. So may we do just that with grace, with joy and with peace. And so it is. It shall be peace and blessings, everybody.
Paige Kizer (30:45):
Thank you, Reverend Darrell.