Finding purpose, passion, and goodness

When I look back on my childhood for clues about who I am today, I see that I’ve always been someone who gathers people together. First it was the “Shell Club.” The whole idea revolved around an abalone shell my Uncle Darel brought back for me from his diving trip. 

For the first meeting of the Shell Club, I arranged my parents’ lawn chairs in a circle on the grassy sideyard and put my abalone shell in the middle. (There’s my first circle AND my first altar.) Then I gathered the neighborhood kids together and called the meeting to order. 

Reaching for a purpose

Once my friends caught on that the whole purpose of the Shell Club was to sit around and admire my abalone shell, they began to grumble and shuffle their feet. I quickly realized that I needed a deeper purpose for our gathering. “Wait,” I said, handing the abalone shell to the kid next to me. “Pass it around. Feel it. Smell it. It’s heavy.” As the shell passed from hand to hand (sound familiar?) I brought up the idea of dues. Alas, even at five cents per head, I had no takers. The purpose of the circle was simply not deep enough. 

Some part of us always knows  

Today I spend a lot of time in writing circles of women I call together. I still pass my abalone shell (with white sage burning inside). And I gather dues (in the form of tuition) for a purpose much deeper than admiring my latest acquisition. 

I guess some part of me already knew who I would become. The Shell Club was just practice for the real thing. 

What were the clues in YOUR childhood?

I’d love to hear from you.