Meet Cali.

She stood cutting strawberries at the far end of that most adorable and welcoming crepe shop. After I spoke with Carlo, I waved and said good-bye to Cali at the back. But when she began engaging me in conversation, that’s when I knew I needed to stick around. This was one lovely and interesting woman.

I asked Cali one question. “If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would you do with your life?”

This was her response.

Cali admitted. “I like the places that I work.” Cali works at the crepe shop, and she also runs a bike shop. The bike shop is “very seasonal.” In the winter, business gets slow, so she works other places.

If Cali didn’t have to worry about money at all, she’d “work to make it so other people weren’t suffering.” She’d “travel, but would still want to have some roots in life.”

And Cali made a good point. You’d probably “still worry about something” even if you had everything you need. Hmmm…I bet that’s true. We’re all a little prone to worry about something, aren’t we?

So what can we learn from Cali?

Cali was awesome. She was super warm, authentic and down to earth. We engaged with ease. No pretenses about this girl, that’s for sure.

I wonder. What if every human being was 100% authentic at all times? If everyone around us was living authentically, wouldn’t we be more inspired to live authentically as well? And if everyone around us was living authentically, don’t you think more people might be inclined to live out their dreams? Because life would no longer be about impressing and meeting the world’s expectations, but about seeking, finding and living out your purpose within the greater body of humanity.

So you can live a life built to impress.

Or you can live a life designed to inspire, equip and complement.

You decide.

Be a second-rate version of yourself?

Or be yourself?

You decide.

Live someone else’s dream for you?

Or live your dream for you, God’s dream for you?

You decide.

Oh, yeah. I can’t forget Cali’s profound statements, that she’d “work to make it so other people weren’t suffering,” and that she actually “likes the places she works.”

Amazing. Bold. Beautiful.

We might not have all the time or money in the world, but what if we all worked, even just a little every day, to make it so other people didn’t have to suffer as much? What kind of world would we live in then? And what if we all decided to do work we really like or really love? What kind of world would we live in then?

So tell me….what speaks to you most about Cali’s story? There are several great discussions that could be had from Cali’s response to my question. What’s the greatest take away for you?

 

 

 

*This post is a part of a month-long 31 Days series titled Dreams from the Street. If you’d like to read more from my series, click here and you’ll be brought to the series landing page where all 31 posts are listed and linked! You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/AmyBPederson where I’ll tweet links to all 31 posts using hashtag #write31days, and I’d LOVE to connect on Facebook at facebook.com/AmyBPederson! I’m so glad you stopped by. Make yourself comfortable and take a peek around the place. You’re welcome back anytime.