What's your heart's song?

Last night I had the pleasure of watching the wonderful film "The Shift" with Dr Wayne Dyer. A three stringed story that unfolds simultainously to show the shift from ambition to meaning ( which was the original title of the film).

The Shift as Wayne Dyer talks about it has been researched in both men and women. In both the film and the book of the same name, Dr. Dyer explores the process of moving away from an aimless life, directed by our ego and its lies, to one filled with meaning and purpose.

As he explains, "The shift begins in the process of halting the momentum and self-importance of the ego. This doesn't mean we lose our drive; rather, it signifies that our drive is realigned with a life based on experiencing meaning and feeling purposeful."

He points out that, unfortunately, many people reach the end of their life without ever making this "u-turn" from ambition to meaning.
So, what exactly does this shift look like?

Characteristics of The Shift

According to studies, Dr. Dyer says that the top values for men and women, before and after making a shift in the direction and motivation of their lives, are as follows:
For men...
Before making the shift, the top values for men are:

• wealth
• adventure
• achievement
• pleasure
• being respected

After the shift, these top values changed to:

• spirituality
• personal peace
• family
• God's will
• honesty

For women...
Before making the shift, the top values for women are:

• family
• independence
• career
• fitting in
• attractiveness

After the shift, these top values changed to:

• personal growth
• self-esteem
• spirituality
• happiness
• generosity

I can recognise this in both myself and those around me, both those who have made the shift and are in the "afternoon" of their lives and those who are still in the "Morning" of their life as, Wayne Dyer puts it.

What struck me was a reference Wayne made to a book he had been given as a young man. Leo Tolstoy's "The death of Ivan Ilyich" there's a clue of the ending in the title, but in the story as Ivan is lying on his deathbed  he says "What is my whole life has been wrong?" and then dies.

Imagine that? Living your whole life and then at the end in the very last moment, reviewing your life in that way?

We all have a song in our heart that is our reason for being here, the gift, unique to us that we bring to the World.

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

It matters not what your gift is,you may be a street sweeper, a poet, a manager, housewife... No, what what matters most is that your song is not left unsung, that your promise is fulfilled to the World. That you do not deny us of your individual service. 

What's your heart's song as yet unsung?
What's your gift as yet not shared?

Everybody matters, everyone is unique, everyone can serve by sharing their own heart song, and in doing so not only help themselves but help the whole.

So look and listen to those around you, encourage them to sing their song.
And today I urge you to listen carefully to your own heart, do you have a song as yet unsung?
Are you in the morning of your life mumbling through life , or have you made your shift into the full bloom of the afternoon of your life?

Until next time,
Make every moment count,
Lisa xx