Recently, at a ceremony for students entering the medical field, a guest speaker referred to the students’ choice of becoming a doctor by saying their calling was not to get an education and become a successful practicing physician, but rather their calling was to service people with health issues, and being a doctor was a tool to reach that end.

That point really resonated with me as I began to consider what had been the calling in my own life, especially now that I am in what is probably the final quarter of my time on Earth.  I have not been a world-changer, at least in the general public’s perception, but I have led a moderately successful life and have been blessed with children and grandchildren who have and continue to make me proud of them each and every day.

But I never really found what most people think of as their calling, during my lifetime.  Looking back, I suspect it was my own fault that I didn’t find it.  I’m sure along the way there were several times I could have taken the less-traveled road toward a goal that would have been more fulfilling, but I was too complacent in my own comfort zone to take the leap.

But maybe not.  The newspapers are full of celebrities that thought their calling was their chosen profession, but once they achieved success, still became involved with drugs or alcohol, in pursuit of the lofty goal of satisfaction and fulfillment.  Far too many of these stories ended tragically, as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow continued to elude them.

But, as the speaker so deftly alluded, the calling in everyone is to be of service to others.  This can be done in many ways, including an acting career in which you provide entertainment for those to escape their everyday woes, or in a service profession which supplies basic needs to all.

You can donate money to charitable organizations as a way of being in service to others, or if finances don’t allow, you may choose to volunteer your time to one of the organizations in your own community.

And even if those seem to be too difficult, you can just smile at the people you meet on the sidewalks and corridors you travel.  You never know what is on the mind of the person you meet.  Your smile and cheerful greeting to the young woman in the grocery store may just relieve her for a moment from the stress of trying to figure out how to feed her children on the little money she has in her purse.

The older gentleman you just met on the way to the doctor’s office may have just gotten some bad news about himself or his loved ones, and your smile may just remind him there is some hope in the world.

I may have missed my calling because I was afraid to take the chance, but I am going to try to not miss this next opportunity to make someone smile, even if it is just for a moment.  Everyone has that calling.  It cost you nothing, and not only does it make someone’s day a little brighter, you will be surprised at how much lighter your own burdens become.

Pursue you dreams and goals, but along the way, don’t lose sight that your primary calling as a human being is to be of service to others.  Share what you have, whether it be money, your time, or your cheerfulness.

You will receive more in return than you invest, and you will glad you did.