Heath Frost - Lifework

LifeWork started in 1991 as a newsletter for my right livelihood practice. Quickly, it expanded beyond just the search for meaning in the workplace to the quest for a meaningful life. LifeWork includes editorials, feature articles, and interviews/reader stories, as well as quotes, poems, and prayers -- all for the purpose of providing encouragement and support for not only right livelihood, but also for your life's path: whatever form, however meandering . . . .

LifeWork: Celebrating 10 Yearsis the 135 page compilation including 31 issues, plus letters from readers, Letter from the Editor, and 5 additional pages of quotes and photographic images.

Many have written that the timing and content of LifeWork'sissues were synchronistic with the events and challenges in their lives, and seemed as if I had written it just for them. Now the compilation brings the first 10 years of newsletters together so they can be read and reread, as a boost during a challenging time or a time of transition, or maybe just as inspiration day to day.

LifeWork: Celebrating 10 Years is a bound, 135-page compilation of 31 issues, plus letters from readers, Letter from the Editor, and 5 additional pages of quotes and photographic images. Price is $25.00, which includes shipping and tax.

Since I, too, wasn't one of those folks who knew what they wanted to be or do, the lifework topic has been very personal for me. My search started probably 30 years ago, with my first summer job in an office, with the recognition that although I could follow the rules and even do well, I would never thrive. Since then, I have found more than one right livelihood. I suppose I might be done with the topic. But the search for meaning, through expression in the world is something I think is never done.

I can look back on the beginnings of LifeWork and marvel at my naivete. Like various key decisions in my life, I had less a plan or vision, than an instinct and a drive. It's hard to say if it tapped me on the shoulder or if I birthed it. Either way, writing LifeWork has been a serious thread in the fabric of my life for ten years, and ten years is a worthy celebration.

Although the parameters of work are way too small to confine us, they can provide the container for our quest to find ourselves and our place. The quest is no small thing: it is layered and complex. We are up against every insecurity and dark shadow which, of course, is a good thing in the end.

Writing about right livelihood and a meaningful life has required more of me than I thought it would. To find meaning below the surface, I have had to search my own depths. Rarely do I find it easy. But that has been an opportunity, not a burden.

I am more than grateful for the stories you have entrusted me with. Without the courage, willingness and vulnerability I have witnessed over the years, the newsletter would have long since withered. Your stories have nourished me and been the fuel for what I have written. Thank you...

Heath Frost

... I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your LifeWork newsletter. It is one of the few pieces of mail that I enjoy receiving and benefit from. It gives me hope and reminds me that I deserve to be happy and fulfilled in whatever I do for a living.
- M.B

... I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the newsletters. I always enjoy them...I try to work every day at living my life more respectfully and trying to remember that life is precious and there are no guarantees... but it is really hard! Your newsletter has come at a a great time and I am going to forward a copy to both of my sons as your thoughts will certainly be a great inspiration to them as well...Thank you and I look forward to your next publication!
- S.R.

... Thank you for your wisdom and insight while assisting me in discovering my "passion." I feel more excitement and confidence for the direction my life is going. Gone is that feeling of "what do I want?" and "I don't know." I do know, and it's wonderful! Continue your excellent work.
- S.G

... I felt compelled to thank you for your inspiration and hope. Your article, as well as the interviews of others as they embark on this noble journey, offer me such a great sense of connection and validation as I too struggle in my process to find my desires and core. ...I think what you're doing is beautiful, and it is indeed greatly appreciated.
- S.F.

For years I have been on your mailing list. As one who always seems to feel my lifework is just within my grasp but not quite reachable, I find great pleasure in arriving home and finding your LifeWork newsletter in my post box.
- D.W.

... I love your publication, and every time I get it I always feel like writing you a letter...

I am working on a Master's degree in teaching. It's been a long and winding road, but I finish this August. I'm doing my student teaching right now at a rural high school.... I went to a good high school, followed by a liberal arts college, but career was never mentioned... I've been a minister, a counselor, a catering manager, a chef and a small business owner. I love working with kids, especially adolescents. I think I have more to give the kids now than I had 20 years ago.

I think that I am supposed to be just where I am somehow. I'm trusting the process and taking each step as it comes....
- L.H.

... I always enjoy LifeWork. The "crooked-line life" is so applicable to me! I feel that I could not be doing what I'm doing now without the learning I've gotten from every twist and turn of the path that got me here! Keep on writing! It makes a difference.
- Y. L.

... Thanks for helping me change my life! I love my work and while I have the sense this is just one stop on the journey, I'm enjoying the path! Thank you for believing I could do it when I didn't believe it! And thanks for lighting the path.
- K.M.

... You are definitely one of my "angels!" I was wobbling about, practising the art of BEING HERE (where else can I be?), when your newsletter arrived! Thanks for letting me give myself permission to be wobbly, non-linear, interior! I am definitely in the process of re-making myself. I want a NEW LIFE not just another job! It's just taking a bit longer than I thought!
- E.B.

... Your publication inspires and motivates me to not give up on my own personal quest. Thanks for the continued insight.
- S.P.

I have looked forward to, read, re-read, and appreciated each issue of your newsletter as it arrived in my mail. Still I was blown away by the impact of the compilation. All ten years' worth of newsletters together in one BIG book. Your sharing of your thoughts, feelings, and personal experiences demonstrates the depth and quality of your own commitment to the path of right livelihood. But what you have written goes beyond right livelihood and speaks to just being alive -- consciously, responsibly, joyfully, and courageously -- in the world we are living in now. What a gift. Thank you for sharing yourself and your wisdom with me, with all of us readers. Please continue.
- JC

I have devotedly read your newsletters for many years but last night I started reading your compilation, and could hardly put it down. The variety in it offers so much to readers and the unfolding of you and your life through the last ten years adds so much. I felt inspired. Many of your reflections helped me, because I have been stymied by the kind of intangible skills that I possess, that are not greatly honored "out there" and consequently discounted, especially by me.
- K.D.

I received your book as a gift... I started reading it one night at 10:00 and couldn't put it down. I read it straight through until 1:45 in the morning. THANK YOU. It is fantastic. I just had to call to give you that feedback.
- J.K.

Thank you so much for putting together the "Ten Years in Print" compilation. I knew when I ordered it, that it would hold a special place on my shelves of favorite books because of the depth and honesty and heart that I found in your LifeWork newsletters. But to actually hold the compilation in my hands and have at my fingertips ten years worth of writing and stories on life and passion and work is such a gift, I had to write and thank you.

I also appreciate the added "Reflections" pages. Your photographic images with their grace, power and serenity, along with quotes from other spiritual seekers and thinkers bring me much to contemplate... I am taking more time, finally, for sitting with myself and being quiet. For listening. For asking.

Please know your energies and dedication in writing and compiling this material are appreciated.
- A.A.

LifeWork has been my quiet resource of support. I visited closely over every word with a cup of tea and held the spirit of your path. Your writing has given me a delightful and introspective reflection, left me feeling less alone in my dance. Thank you for all the encouragement you blessed me with and how special a place in my heart you've carved.
- C.T.

Your wisdom and honesty have helped me tremendously over the years. LifeWork is so rich and relevant. I have found comfort and perspective every time I read it. Thank you for being here for all of us. You are exceptional, inspirational, and your humanity and generosity has been invaluable in my life and times.
- J. S.

A word of gratitude for your inspiring words that you have shared with us over the 12 years. I am grateful for the encouragement to allow the process to lead me to my work.
- E.M.I.

Upon reading your 1st LifeWork issue, I was hooked. I eagerly anticipated each issue and always looked forward to finding a quiet spot to pour over your delicious quotes, and editorial and articles which always seem to strike a chord and reach me somewhere deep. I will miss it.
- N.D.

Taking a Stand for the Truth of the Heart
WINTER 1995/1996

Who am I, what is it I really want, and what is my life really about? They are the questions we need to be asking somewhere in mid-life. The questions we ask in our twenties have a different tenor, when the call of freedom, acquisition and new opportunity are ever present. These mid-life questions require not only deep soul-searching, but require questioning the culture which has taught us to value possessions and accomplishment over fulfillment and contribution. They are the intersection of spirit and matter -- our spiritual lives and the material world -- where we are forced to create a partnership and dialogue in which spirit informs our work and work feeds our spirit.

Believing that We Matter
FALL 1997

Believing in ourselves is a bottom-line issue; if we really believed in ourselves, we would not be in jobs and lives we hated, but we would be able to trust that there was a special place for us, needing our contribution. Too often, we reside in our fears and wounding, allowing them to overshadow our courage and willingness to stand behind our unique and original gifts. It is fighting the good fight against our wounds that is a way of building our belief in our value and the value of our dream. It is a way of saying I matter and I'm willing to show up and be counted.

Editorial
SPRING/SUMMER 1999

Choosing our stories. We are each quite remarkable storytellers. We are brilliant in cooking up all the wildest tales about what will go wrong, how we are unfit for the task, why our deepest longing wasn't a good idea in the first place. We are remarkable storytellers sadly telling ourselves the wrong stories.

Master storytellers have the ability to shape shift at the right moment. They know how to inspire us in holding on to our fondest imaginings with every shred of steadfastness, desperation, and desire that we can muster. They cast their enchantment and we believe. The greatest power we have is to choose our stories. Remarkably, we have the choice each moment.

Having it All: Which All is Worth Having?
FALL 2001

I used to believe it was possible to combine the "advertised" American dream and spiritual fulfillment. Now I think not. The latte lifestyle and the more spiritually focused one seem to have a hard time meeting in the middle. If we merely boil it down to speed, we physically can't maintain a high-speed lifestyle, AND have quality quiet time to restore our sense of inner balance. Trying to combine them is not only impossible but missing the point.

Frankly, and finances aside, we can't afford to hang on to the old notion of having it all: we can't afford such a small view of ourselves or of the world. We need to keep sight of the true cost of things and decide what is worth having. World events tell us how vulnerable we are and how urgently our priority list needs to be reordered. The privilege of living in our corner of the world at this moment in time, where we can even consider having it all, does not exempt us responsibility to our world village. Even our smallest gestures will help save the world when we care more about giving than getting. And in the end, we may have nothing unless we do.

Monday Matinees
SPRING/SUMMER 2001

It is getting tougher and tougher to put ends together. The time monster spares no one. But we always have more choices than we are willing to admit. We are just unwilling to make them. We act as if we are pitted against the workplace instead of recognizing we are also pitted against ourselves. There are always different choices we can make and most of what we think is impossible stays so only because of our belief. We contribute enormously to the sorry state of earning a living by our willingness to skip lunch, as well as skip the things we consider important. Just because the bar gets raised doesn't mean we have to jump over it.