One Task for One Love Parable

An angel visited three women. These three women were so busy in their lives they gave up listening to the promptings of their heart. The angel came to help them and asked them, what would they be willing to give up to pursue their heart’s calling?

Two of the women couldn't answer that question. They sat in contemplation pondering the offer. Every event and person were important. The familiarity of the routine while tiring gave them direction and security. They wouldn’t know how to eliminate anything. They felt loyal to each and wouldn’t want to betray what they invested in. Let alone what dream would they dare to choose to believe in to exchange? One woman stubbornly said she wouldn't give up anything. She liked her life, just the way it was.

So the angel, knowing their heart, asked each woman, would they give up_________(a specific overwhelming priority task specific to each) for ___________(something he knew deep down each were passionate about, but either gave up on that dream or secretly held that wish in private)?

The thought of the possibility and the freedom it posed encouraged all three to say yes in the end. They were willing to risk their present circumstances for the opportunity it gave their future.

The angel gave them instructions how to release that one task to incorporate one love.

For one woman, she was so eager and motivated to jump into her heart’s dream, she spent the next couple of weeks taking the necessary steps to quit the task she was involved in and made the big change. It was so life affirming she took this experience, exchanging one task for one love, as her life’s creed. It transformed the rest of her life. She was very happy and very successful.

For the second woman she set up a one year plan. She was determined to receive the gift promised by the angel, but she wanted to be sure all those she was involved with were taken care of too. So she took the next twelve months reorienting her professional and personal life before she finally achieved her realized joy. This shift lifted her up so much that it gave her great peace for the rest of her life.

The third woman, who had been originally stubborn about the whole proposal, was still trying to achieve her dream two years later. She wanted what the angel promised her, but had difficulty releasing her invested task. She made compromises and bent the precise instructions laid out for her. She knew for one woman it took a year, so she told herself she could take the time she needed to get her affairs in order. She didn’t give up on her dream, but neither did she let anything else go. So every day of her life she was now consumed with the present tasks and the future investment. She told herself, the angel showed it was possible for her to achieve her dream, she just needed to figure out how to do that under the present circumstances. Surely it was possible to just work harder at what she was doing to create the pathway she needed to evolve into what she desired for herself. People did it all the time.

The other two women saw their friend struggling. They knew she wasn’t going to achieve anything but burn herself out if they didn’t intervene. The three gathered at the second woman’s house for cocktails and dinner. Through the conversation they explored the wonder of the angel’s presence and invitation, and the instructions they each were given. The two gave their own testimony of how amazing it was to release their task and live their dream. They also shared their concerns for their friend. She was defensive, at first, but finally came to agree she wasn’t getting anywhere, and that perhaps she needed to revaluate what she was told to do. Her friends promised they would help her and support her through each step.

It took another six months, but the third woman finally found her flow and ease in living. She continued to be busy, she liked the work. But now she understood how to live one’s dream within her preferred lifestyle. By releasing the task she built up as important, she could see the patterns that kept her from success. She realized the angel was not taking anything away from her, but teaching her how to be her best. She learned that flexibility and perseverance were equal assets. That each was a tool to be used in its proper time. Used inappropriately, and these virtues become the catalysts that bind and restrict prosperity. These inspirations became the model she incorporated into her business structure and taught her employees. In doing so, her love abounded and she altered the lives of all those who came to work for her.

One task for one love.

What would you be willing to give up to pursue the calling of your heart?