Living Your Noble Purpose

"A common jar of clay can never become a noble masterpiece, unless it is broken by its master, refined in fire, and renewed." - Sharif Khan

There is a passage in scriptures that I have always found troubling. It reads: "Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?" [Romans 9: 20-21]. It troubles me, because no matter how hard I try to live a nobler life, I look to the brilliant stars above me and wonder if my life has already been written 'for common use.'

Haven't we all wondered at times if we were destined for greatness or gloominess? Is our destiny sealed by a written fate or is our outer-world but a reflection of our inner-world determined by our thoughts and will? Can the common jar of clay become a noble masterpiece? Can the wild bush become a walnut tree?

History dictates that the common jar of clay will always remain a common jar of clay; it can never become a noble masterpiece on its own accord. Ancient relics that have been buried for thousands of centuries have remained relatively the same after being uncovered by archaeologists. Likewise, nature dictates that wild bush seed will always yield wild bush, and nothing else. The jar of clay, the wild bush, they cannot change because they have no will. If they do have a will, it is very weak, and so bound by their make. Or, depending on how you look at it, very strong, because they are determined to be who they were born to be. Either way you look at it, they cannot change because it is not in their nature - they cannot think for themselves.

Humans on the other hand do have a will, and a much stronger one at that: we can choose to kill someone or save a life, we can study in our field of endeavor or choose a life of crime, we can work out to become an Olympic athlete, or we can pig out and eventually die of a heart attack. As humans, the big difference is that we all have the faculty of reasoning and can significantly change the environment around us.

Although many of us have heard numerous examples in life where people from complete poverty and everything working against them beat the odds to become great, we still, in our heart of hearts, skeptically ask ourselves the question, "Can a pauper become a prince?" Can we really, truly change our character? Intellectually, it would seem the answer is no. But my intuition tells me yes. Or is it the part of me that hopes and dreams and wishes, but always falls short, because it is just that - a dream, and nothing more? The part of me that marketers love to take advantage of: you too can become a bestselling author, an academy award winning actor, an Olympic athlete, if you take our program, pill or practice.

Yet we have seen paupers turn into princes have we not? Sidney Poitier, the legendary actor, grew up in extreme poverty to become a shining prince and take home an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in acting and filmmaking; John Steinbeck was a university drop out who worked as a sales clerk, farm laborer, ranch hand, and factory worker, and yet became a literary giant who won both the Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize for Literature. Mother Teresa was a nun who taught at St. Mary's High School in Calcutta, but later experienced 'a call within a call' becoming a world leader who won the Nobel Prize for Peace and earning the tribute, "Saint of the Gutters."

It would seem then that these examples defy scriptures; that the pottery for common use has become pottery for noble purposes. But it is easy to forget that the maker that makes us for one purpose, can also break us, and re-make us for another. The potter can break common clay, refine it and purify it in fire, in spirit, and recreate a noble masterpiece. The forester can burn an entire expanse of wild bush land and plant in that same soil a new seed.

Any person who has achieved greatness has been 'broken-in.' They have encountered life situations that have broken them, humbled them, brought them to their knees, and cut their egos down to size, shattering their limited conception of self. It is in these moments of breaking that they have learned to persevere. It's God's way of making the wise foolish, and fools wise.

We are all clay in the potter's hands. And the world breaks everyone. All of us have experienced situations in life that have tested us severely. Hey, shit happens?but if it didn't, we'd all be constipated. It's a good thing! But if we refuse to humble ourselves, refuse to take risks in life, refuse to see our own worst faults, stubbornly refuse to learn from our failures, and keep repeating the same mistakes, the shit piles up pretty fast! And that can be very painful.

We have only ourselves to blame for being put to common use and settling for mediocrity. If we were to read the scriptures more deeply, we would realize that the maker is in us, for it clearly states, "Behold the Kingdom of God is within you!" [Luke 17:21] And so living a life of noble purpose requires surrendering to the master within - letting go and letting great. Only by willing to be broken and humbled can we be rebuilt in far stronger spiritual clay. For as Hemingway once wrote, "The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially." ■

Sharif Khan is a professional speaker and author of "Psychology of the Hero Soul," an inspirational book on awakening the Hero within and developing people's leadership potential. You can reach him at sharif@herosoul.com or by visiting http://www.herosoul.com

Sharif provides inspirational keynotes and leadership development workshops that entertain, educate, and empower. To book Sharif as a speaker for your next event call:(416) 417-1259.

Forward (blog)

The Spiritual Significance of the Seven Species Silan Cake Forward (blog) By extension, there is a remarkable degree of similarity between a person's physical development — even his/her spiritual development, and that of a tree. We, too, have roots, which are the equivalent of our spiritual selves that one can't see, ...

Washington Times

The Problem with Religion Patheos (blog) There have never been any “spirituality wars,” but conflict in the name of religion has often escalated into violence and has claimed countless lives. For many, religion is synonymous with rigidity, exclusion, unquestioned authority and rule keeping. God or Gay, No Need to Choose SidesReligion Dispatches all 4 news articles »

Who is a Spiritual Person? By Fr. Anand Muttungal Pakistan Christian Post Can we define a spiritual person? Many ask this question. Spirituality is a state of mind leading of a person to an ultimate reality; an inner path enabling to discover the essence of his/her being; or the deepest values and meanings by which one live.

Interference.com

Sellout Or Spirituality: U2's Super Bowl Set, Ten Years Later Interference.com I've had to watch it on YouTube in the intervening years to digest in simulation its seamless power and spiritual potency. What I did see at the time was Bono flashing his flag jacket on the cover of Time magazine, and I cringed, fearing that Bono had ...

Houston Chronicle (blog)

Keeping yourself (and your horse) healthy Houston Chronicle (blog) Research also reveals that spirituality impacts thought. If spirituality improves thought and thought impacts us physically, perhaps, the new model should be a spiritual one? A survey of American family physicians found that 99 percent of these ... and more »

Spirituality: A lifetime of parenting in 80 minutes Elmira Star-Gazette Whatever you think of Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, you may want to say a prayer for his 3-year-old daughter Isabella, who was admitted to the hospital last month with complications from a chromosomal condition called Trisomy 18. and more »

Daily Californian

Divine Palace: MC of Shabazz Palaces talks funk, spirituality Daily Californian There's realms that are existing on top of each other and we get caught up in this realm so much because we're losing our spirituality and our humanity and our connection with nature, so we just ignore a lot of shit that's going on around us. and more »

Spiritual Impressions. Work by Michael Stoeber blogTO (blog) Overall, this work is a tangible by-product of my long-standing interest in spirituality. The process allows subconscious energies and feelings to surface in creative and spiritually integrative ways. These impressions have constellated around some ...

No-thought leaders Times of India Self-effasive and low-key, MMS's so-called indifference might well be a studied position, inspired by deep spiritual insight. Otherwise, wouldn't he show signs of power hunger? J Krishnamurti never wished to become a 'world teacher.

Demi Moore Seeks Spiritual Counseling Huffington Post Spiritual Counseling, well there's a waste of time. How about actual medical counseling. You know with Doctors and people with degrees. Ridiculous. cameron_d: Spiritual Counseling, well there's a waste of time. How about pathetic......truly pathetic! and more »