Coffee, Coaching & Callings - Your Calling As a Path to Integration

This week on Coffee, Coaching, and Calling, Laurel Elders had the pleasure of sitting down with two incredible sisters, Paula Francis and Christine Noyes, who truly embody what it means to answer your life's calling. Paula, the insightful author of 18 Pairs of Shoes and co-founder of Gross National Happiness USA, and Christine, an amazing author and illustrator who shared how her professions seemingly chose her, gave us such a rich conversation about courage, fear, and living in alignment with our deepest values.

The Courage to Say "Yes"

Both Paula and Christine admitted they never quite saw themselves where they are today. Life, as they so eloquently put it, has a way of throwing circumstances at you, presenting these pivotal moments where you get to choose your direction. And it's not always about grand, dramatic shifts; sometimes, it's those subtle nudges that truly matter. The big takeaway here for all of us, they emphasized, is to recognize every single moment as an opportunity to choose happiness, follow our passions, and open our hearts.

Releasing Fear: Your Path to Freedom

We then dove into the powerful emotion of fear. Laurel shared her thought about fear being our responsibility, and how confronting it unlocks our power. Paula’s experience from her 10,000-mile walk across the country, much of it solo, really brought this home. People she met constantly asked if she wasn't afraid, a reflection, she realized, of their own fear-driven lives. Paula discovered that so much of the fear we carry is "made up in our minds – the 'what-ifs' that put hurdles in our way."

Releasing that fear, Paula explained, is incredibly liberating. It creates space for wonderful new things to enter our lives. Christine agreed, highlighting how fear can actually block our intuition. When we let go of fear, our intuition can then guide us to the next right step, the right person, or the next amazing opportunity. Paula's encounters on her walk often proved that the "next place" people feared was welcoming and kind, simply because she didn't carry negative expectations. As she wisely put it, "most people are genuinely kind and generous and thoughtful and loving."

Resilience: Finding Strength in the Unknown

Christine shared her deeply personal story of sudden, drastic change when her husband tragically passed away on an airplane. Her life instantly shifted, bringing immense fear and anxiety. But she emphasized the incredible importance of resilience, asking, "What do you do now? What do you do with that anxiety?" While there's no universal answer, the ability to bounce back, she believes, is something innate within us all.

Paula added another layer to this with a truly powerful story about Lieutenant Colonel Holland Chapman, a Vietnam War prisoner of war for over seven years. Despite enduring unimaginable circumstances, his core message was simply: "Be kind." He found meaning even in a doorknob, symbolizing freedom. This incredible account is such a testament to the depth of human resilience and the profound power of forgiveness, even in the most challenging situations.

Aligning Life with Values: Gross National Happiness

Paula's cross-country walk wasn't just a personal journey; it was a fascinating research project. She firmly believes we should measure success and progress not just through economic indicators like gross domestic product, but by what we truly value. Her work with Gross National Happiness USA seeks to understand if the values driving GNH indexes in other countries resonate here in the United States. She found a surprising amount of alignment, but what really struck her was how often our personal lives fall out of sync with our own declared values. We get so easily distracted by fear, our busy schedules, and the false belief that we have all the time in the world.

Professions That Choose You: Christine's Unfolding Journey

Christine shared how her professions genuinely seemed to find her. Her first calling as a chef naturally evolved from working at her grandfather's restaurant. Later, a job offer in food sales literally pulled her out of the kitchen. Eventually, she and her husband bravely ventured into opening their own business.
However, her most profound calling was becoming an author. This journey was profoundly sparked by the death of her husband. Weeks after he passed, words began to circle in her mind, forming a poem she wrote on her phone in the middle of the night. This poem, "Distance," became the unexpected catalyst. Encouraged by her sister-in-law, she began writing children's books based on her husband's charming pet peeves and his loving nature, primarily so her great-nieces and nephews would remember him. What started as a heartfelt tribute blossomed into her true calling.

This conversation was such a powerful reminder that embracing your calling, confronting your fears, and aligning your actions with your values can lead to such a rich and fulfilling life. It's a continuous journey of learning and growth, showing us that resilience is deeply ingrained within us, and that by letting go of fear, we truly open ourselves up to a world of endless possibilities.
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What's one small step you can take today to align your actions with something you truly value?

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