Becoming Who You Are

Parker Palmer writes about the theme of "becoming who you are". Parker says, "The idea that vocation, or calling, comes from a voice external to ourselves. Vocation comes from a voice 'in here' calling me to be the person I was born to be, to fulfill the original self-hood given me at birth by God." Palmer says the deepest vocational questions are, "Who am I? What is my nature?" He says that our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic self-hood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be.

In today's society, we feel that we must pretend to be someone we are not in order to fit in. Instead, we should follow the voice inside our head calling us toward our vocation and the person we were born to be. I agree with what Palmer says about our deepest calling is growing in our own self-hood, whether or not it conforms to who we ought to be. Today, most people are worried about how much money they need to make, the most prestigious college they should attend, the nicest car to drive, or the biggest house they can live in. These desire take us away from following our vocation and discovering who we truly are. I think success is only possible if you are willing to accept yourself for who you truly are and for what you are capable of achieving. I fully agree with Parker Palmer's assertions about vocation.