Do you remember as a kid what you wanted to do when you grew up? What’s your job now? Are you getting up every morning to embody one of your childhood fanstasies?
There were lots of things I was interested in when I was a kid, and I didn’t pursue any of them, well that’s what I thought for a long time… but it’s not true, and only recently did I realise that many of the passions, interests or hobbies I had as a child, I actually got to experience, practice or work at as an adult.
Let’s start by the obvious one. I had a passion for horses, which wasn’t an “acceptable” career opportunity (so I’d been told over and over) so I made an educated choice: studying law to get a good job that would support this expensive hobby. So I got to University. It didn’t work. Boredom took over and 4 years, a degree and a blown fuse later, I ended working at my passion for horses full time. Passion had taken over reason. (Whether it was a good idea is another story…).
While I was working in the horse-racing industry, which I thought was going to be my life forever, I developed new interests. I studied human anatomy and physiology (only because I hadn’t found a course on horses’ biology), and as it happens, massage was part of that course and even though I only did it because it was there… sort of… I realised I liked it and this opened up the door to many other courses and trainings, some of which I’ve used, some of which I haven’t, but when I look back I’m stunned to see that they nearly all can relate to some childhood interests.
When I started my massage course, I had never even had a massage myself before, never mind given one… so I thought. But it wasn’t true, I had completely forgotten about it but when we were teenagers my friends would always ask me to massage their backs at the beach. They loved it and I always was the “designated volunteer” for the job. And you know what? I think I liked it too.
I have trained in multiple energy healing modalities, rooted in different spiritual traditions, and it even is a miracle I slipped down that road, having been such a strong “atheist-there’s-nothing-out-there-your-body-feeds-the-worms-when-you-die-and-that’s-it” type of person. Yes, I’ve come a long way… but I only had become that way over years of narrow minded catechism that didn’t make sense to me. When I think of it, at an earlier age as a child I was fascinated by all things “esoterical” (by lack of a better word). And I reconnected with that fascination for the unknown, that “knowing of something bigger yet not sure of what it is” over these all so varied healing modalities I studied as an adult.
Among these modalities is also crystal healing, and as a child I was always attracted by gemstones, all these shapes and colours, anything that looked like a stalagtite or a stalagmite was fascinating to me… But my mum thought they looked so tacky she wouldn’t let me bring some home if her life depended on it. (she has good taste and somehow amethysts and heart shaped rose quartz weren’t “fitting in”).
It’s funny how I’d forgotten a lot of my childhood’s interests…
I also studied plantar reflexology… this one I haven’t forgotten the missing childhood link, because it’s the most unlikely. My mum loves having her feet rubbed, and when I was younger, every time we would be sitting watching TV, she’d put her feet on my lap (to be fair it was on whoever lap were available, I didn’t have the monopole), and wiggle them until they would be rubbed… by whoever victim was under them. And I absolutely HATED it!!! I hated her feet and I thought I would never ever touch one after I left home and look at me now, fully qualified reflexologist…
You are probably wondering “where the hell is she going with all this?”
Here is the thing: while I’d picked my “career choice” I couldn’t help but regret one. At that time of my teenage years, I don’t think I even suspected I was interested in that other “thing”. And what’s that thing you wonder? … Building. Yes… you read it right. I’d always been fascinated by building sites, huge machinery, gigantic holes in the ground, steel sticking out etc… could watch a JCB dig holes for hours… But never in a million years would I ever have thought of a career choice in that industry. Because I was so brainwashed that Law was THE answer… And then while I was bored in University I would envy some of my friends or friends’ brothers gone into civil engineering. Around that time I often regretted that I hadn’t pushed my maths and physics to go into a scientific section in high school and at least have had the option to do something else…. Who knows, once in it maybe I would’ve hated it! Or maybe I would’ve sucked at it! But at the time you have to make these choices, around what… 15, 16 years old?… who meditates their way to their soul purpose? Bottom line is… I would’ve loved building and I didn’t get a chance to.
… or did I?
Today I am a holistic therapist but part time I am also working in the network marketing profession. Promoting outstanding quality Essential Oils, educating people, helping them to buy at the best price, supporting them in how they use their oils, helping them change their lifestyle, and possibly share and promote like me as well if that’s what they want to. I get paid commissions by the company for helping people to buy at the best possible price, which complements my income. And do you know how people doing this are actually called?
…. BUILDERS….
No joke. It daunted on me a couple of months ago. We are actually called Business Builders. We are that fraction of customers of the company who is choosing to build a business and generate income with a product we are using and recommending around anyway.
I don’t know if other companies refer to their distributors as “Builders”, but among all companies out there I could have become distributor for, funny enough I picked the one who does: we say you can be a user (simply a customer), a sharer (someone who also spreads the word, which gets them a bit of money to pay for their oils), or a full blown Builder, someone who might retire their husband in just 2 to 5 years; which is the true story of my “upline” Becky, whose 4 years of “building” lead to her husband retiring from his plumbing business (ironically he’s the one who was working on building sites to begin with…).
And as I’m writing this article I remember something else: guess what… for years my favourite toys were… Lego Technics. I would spend hours building yellow plastic machines… and now I am a Builder. Was that childhood finding a way to catch up on me?
What’s next? I also loved dinosaurs when I was young…
I’ll keep you posted on that one… 😉
If you too are longing for building… send me an email to know what it takes 😉
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