5 Signs You Are Being Called to a Larger Life
1. You get emotional around plants
I remember my grandad tending to his plants gently, while still wearing a tie. His tongue slightly sticking out, a sign of total focus. Of all the signs, the sudden burst of emotions while seeing my plant and trees grow was the most surprising and prominent. My garden in Costa Rica has become my pride, my meditation. Treating the grazing hill as reflection of myself, the clean slate which required tempering, tending to and nurturing, I (read mainly my amazing neighbour and farmer, Rolando) spent last couple of years planting hundreds of cacao trees, banana plants, coconut palms, delicious mangos and avocados, as well as my favourite ylang-ylang and other fragrant trees. The childlike joy that floods my system during harvesting of the few cacao pods animal friends were kind enough to left for us, is simply delightful.
2. You wish you could do something with your hands
I could not help but smile when I touched a well-made wooden chair or a beautiful clay vase. It’s not just the tactile sensation of the natural elements, it is falling in love with craft itself. It might be more prominent if you spend your last two decades polishing powerpoint slides and reverse engineered ambitions, visions and missions. Soon enough this sudden soft spot for things made by hand makes you realise that you feel a growing admiration for carpenter, blacksmiths, designers—anyone who turns patience into something tangible. Whether your life, or in Thoreau’s Walden, the deliberate engagement with simple, manual work mirrors this search for more meaningful, embodied activity.
3. You hear the call of nature
From shinrin-yoku (forrest bathing) to quietly sitting in the park, a wealth of data proves that nature is amazingly restorative. But there is something more interesting for men then stress (cortisol) reduction, improved immunity and reseting of the central nervous system. It is the call of coming home, back to you. Nature is the feminine element, the Big Mother, that helps us to “soften” up. By being able to observe the gras moving, hearing the leaves gently whisper in the wind, I can eventually start to listen better to what is happening in my own inner world. Nature makes us more empathetic, towards ourselves and others. An essential important for the journey ahead.
4. You feel who drains your energy
Starting to naturally gravitate towards meaningful, deep conversations, you appreciate those who can actually feed your spirit. Your BS detector suddenly supersensitive, you might find yourself avoiding shallow conversations, stepping away from people who drain you. Life feels shorter, and trivial chatter just doesn’t hold your attention anymore.
5. You think about your legacy too often
Everyone is clapping their hands in the effort to applaud the gentleman on the stage of your company event. You stand there, as if someone took your rose-tinted glasses off. As if you just received new pair of eyes or were awaken in the middle of your dream from the matrix. These are not your colleagues but rather suddenly a group of zombies who clap out of fear, inertia or necessity. “Is this it?”, you ask.
“What really matters?” I thought about my legacy—not in some grandiose, world-saving way, but in leaving a mark that’s true to who I am. Creating something that lasts, simply being the man I admire—this is what took me on the biggest adventure of my life.
This path, which profoundly transformed my own life, is the same one I now offer to other men as well as facilitating change in corporate leadership under my personal brand jirirakosnik.com
It combines the best of what has worked for me and for hundreds of men who have attended our retreats focused on the archetypes of Lover, Warrior, Wise Man, and King. We translate powerful practices of self-discovery and self-mastery into simple, practical, and highly effective tools that help men live better, more meaningful lives.
FewGoodMen is here to provide a roadmap, tools and community I wished I had when I was going through my journey. If you would like to know more, join us at the Circles to taste the atmosphere or schedule a complimentary call about one of our retreats.
Bon voyage, Jiri
