Your Calling is Calling: How to Find Purpose in Times of Crisis 

Perhaps you’ve been feeling it recently. Maybe you’ve felt it for a long time. 

The darkness around us is deep. 

We no longer trust the big institutions that were meant to protect us and there is an increase in social unrest at almost every level of society.

Our ecosystem is suffering. Wars between volatile countries are breaking out. Mental health issues are on the rise, so much so that the children these days are labeled “the anxious generation.”

Many of us are struggling to pay for basic necessities. The rise of AI is wiping out many livelihoods and our sense of fundamental security.

Mateo explores more of this crisis in this video:

I don’t need to go into every problem out there because I’m sure you’re more than aware. 

We are living in an age of Soul Loss, personally, societally, and globally.

Alchemically speaking, we are living in the phase of nigredo – the darkening, the burning, the dissolution of the old structures in society that we once relied upon.

There is a collective sense of disillusionment and a level of cynicism I’ve never seen before. Do you feel it?

The other day, someone left a comment on one of my posts that perfectly summarizes what I mean. They wrote:

“There is no such thing as love. Especially agape (“unconditional love”). Humans suck. They don’t want to love. Majority of humans are trash.”

Now I don’t know if this person was a troll or whether they were speaking honestly, but comments like these mirror something tragic but critical:

We are going through an existential crisis as a society – one directly related to a loss of soul, a loss of meaning, and a loss of connection to the spirit of nature (the anima mundi).

When I considered what to write in response to this person, the image of Viktor Frankl, one of the most powerful and awe-inspiring guides on finding purpose in times of despair, immediately came to mind.

Here was my response: 

“Hi C. This is a very one-sided and short-sighted perspective. “Majority of humans are trash.” Someone like Viktor Frankl who survived the Nazi death camps chose to turn that horror into a source of power, helping many through his development of logotherapy. The way I see it is that some people in this world choose self-indulgent and self-destructive cynicism which is easy, but also empty and pointless. Others choose to transform that into power, purpose, and potential, making this world better (love in action). At the end of the day, we’re all in this together, whether we like it or not.”

This comment reflects the essence of what I want to share with you today.

In times of crisis, trauma, and darkness, the only path that I know to be truly powerful, healing, and transformative is to turn your pain into a source of power, purpose, and potential. 

Anything less than that leaves us feeling overwhelmed, hopeless, angry, and stuck in a pit of self-indulgent cynicism, which doesn’t do us or anyone else much good.

This idea of finding your inner path is not a new one. The notion of having a unique calling can be found in many old religious and spiritual ideas, such as dharma in Eastern thought (one’s sacred duty), vocatio in Christian belief (God-given vocation), or one’s unique “medicine” in shamanic cultures who performed vision quests and other rituals to find their calling. 

Where I live in Australia, the Aboriginal people believe in a concept known as Songlines, where their ancestors left pathways across the land for them to follow, connecting them to their greater path, role, and linking them to ancient knowledge.  

In times of crisis, a large doorway to the inner world opens. We could say that pain is the portal. Suffering is the initiation. Mythologically speaking, the “call to adventure” and finding a new way of living and being almost always begins with some kind of crisis.

As Viktor Frankl writes, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” And sociologist Martha Beck complements that by saying, “Any deep crisis is an opportunity to make your life extraordinary.”

In other words, your calling is calling you.

In times of crisis, more than ever before, your calling is calling you to step up, listen to the yearning of your soul, and give back to the world your unique form of “medicine.”

This personal medicine can be small and humble. It can be done between jobs, on lunch breaks, or in the early hours of Saturday morning. It can be visible or invisible – it doesn’t have to look any one way.

The simplest way to get started is this:

Put a hand over your heart, close your eyes, get quiet, and turn inwards. Ask your Soul,

“What am I called to do right now?” 

Pay attention to the first words, images, or feelings that come up. Trust the first rush of insight.

Also remember this:

Your calling is calling you in many different ways, shapes, and forms. It calls to you through signs, synchronicities, dreams, and longings. It calls to you every day. Listen carefully. 

If you struggle to connect with that inner calling or feel blocked in your ability to be proactive, see my Alchemical Soul Work Workbook – a work of passion and the soul – which can help you find clarity and focus.

It’s time to find your path in this time of crisis. 

The world needs your unique form of medicine now more than ever. Don’t delay. Now is the time.  

Tell me, what came up for you when you asked your heart and Soul, “What am I called to do right now?”? I’d love to hear in the comments below.