Do you believe that your work – regardless of the position you find yourself in – can be deeply meaningful and fulfilling? Pete and Jason sit with this multi-faceted question, ruminating on the considerations that we take as we discern what it means to engage in meaningful work. This conversation kicks off a 3-part series on a thoughtful discussion around work and what it truly means to inhabit our vocation in a healthy way.
Summary
We spend a great number of our adult lives at work; and left unexplored, our daily routines eventually write the script for what we believe our vocation is meant to be and how it is to be lived. Pete and Jason lay the groundwork for offering a broad definition of what ‘work’ is – and what it can be – while simultaneously addressing the belief that truly meaningful work is a luxury unavailable to most. They touch on topics like the fallout caused by the cult of the ‘self’, considerations to make when discerning careers, and the stifling effects of micromanaging on beauty and creativity. Along the way, they offer hope towards those who are threadbare, struggling in positions and responsibilities they currently hold. Further, Pete and Jason offer a refreshing take on the gift of living with honour and authenticity, taking hold of that which brings us life, in spaces where our professional and personal lives meet. In this dialogue, discover how we can become our truest selves when we inhabit spaces that speak to our ‘vocatio’ – our life calling.
Speakers Bio
Pete White is the founder of Vocatio, an organization focused on restoring character and calling to the center of human life. Drawing from a wealth of life experiences – from his work as a carpenter in blue-collar environments, volunteering in homeless shelters, to nearly two decades as a therapist in private practice – Pete encountered the deep brokenness of the human experience in lives oriented away from the heart of God. He witnessed firsthand the fractures caused by addictions, poverty of mind, body, and spirit, broken relationships, and crises in identity and authenticity. His encounters have ignited in him a deep desire to see healing and wholeness, steeped in love, to the world around him. Today, Pete accompanies individuals and organizations in the process of clarifying purpose and life-calling, recovering their vocation as life-as-craft.
Jason Jensen is the founding partner and CEO of Glass Canvas. He has set the tone for radical pursuit of the way of Jesus in every area of our business, leading with vulnerability, intentionality, and pursuit of the human heart. His personal mission is to help increase the accompaniment capacity of the Church, and he does so with his gifts of being with individuals and leaders to help draw them into an integrated Christian imagination. Jason leads the formation direction and overall vision of Glass Canvas.
Resources for you
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
by C.S. Lewis
Order from Amazon
Man’s Search for Meaning
by Viktor E. Frankl
Order from Amazon
Noteworthy quotes
“We who have come back, by the aid of many lucky chances or miracles - whatever one may choose to call them - we know: the best of us did not return.”
―Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
Timestamps
01:50 Laying the groundwork: what is ‘work’?
06:03 Work as a dynamic creative expression
07:05 What might ‘Work’ in a rightly-ordered healthy society look like?
09:50 Life scripts as prognoses prohibitive to creativity
12:12 Authenticity sounds like a luxury or a fantasy
14:50 The means to the beginning of discernment into who we are
19:00 We need a place to get aspects of ourselves to land
20:05 Pete’s (surprising) first questions to clients in therapy
25:03 The alternative of showing up not as ourselves in the workplace
26:15 We were made to steward, and to take care of creation
28:00 The pain of not being able to express who are are
31:45 A fulfilled person is a gift to the world
34:00 True habitational self is always a gift
35:40 The cult of ’the self’ while craving meaning and purpose
37:23 The special ingredient
39:41 When is the right time to do all this?
40:00 What ‘gainful employment’ truly means
47:19 Net losses in high-demand and low-trust environments
56:50 Hopeful advice for the thread-bare and overworked
01:00:36 Changing the narrative you’ve always subscribed to
01:07:07 Going on our own odyssey
01:09:20 An encouragement for those who just need a job
01:10:35 Viktor Frankl’s grand revelation
01:15:10 A question about being seen
01:17:50 How we can truly understand ourselves
01:25:20 The alternative to the world’s way: good work
01:34:22 Why not now?
01:39:10 Gandalf’s bridge
01:43:55 Finding your life calling, your ‘vocatio’
01:52:50 Better than a fairytale
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