It’s hard to keep going when the desires of our heart seem so disconnected from the realm of possibilities. But often what needs to change is our interpretation. Nonliteral interpretations help reveal the true spirit of our desires.
No one takes a kid literally when he says he’s Batman. And even the little kid knows he’s just playing pretend as he emulates the admirable qualities of his favorite superhero.
And taking a nonliteral perspective can help us to better interpret and know how to respond to the movements of our heart as well.
For instance, a desire to teach can lead us into the literal profession of teaching – with years of school, certifications, and an actual classroom full of students.
But a nonliteral interpretation honors the spirit of teaching even if it never means official certifications and a literal classroom in the traditional sense.
This frees us to teach even if we have a professional career elsewhere.
For example, we might informally teach on those topics that matter to us as we hang out with friends and family. Or perhaps we organize our own seminar or host a podcast to share our thoughts and ideas with others.
Whatever it looks like, the spirit of teaching can be expressed in many ways outside of the formal classroom.
And this holds true with many of our heart’s desires
To be sure, it’s often difficult to name our desires to begin with. But careful interpretation is needed all the same.
It’s easy to give up when we’re limited to literal interpretations. The desire might seem too unrealistic.
But nonliteral interpretations free us to explore the various expressions of the desire while still honoring its true spirit.
As needed, free your desires with nonliteral interpretations.
Photo by SchoolPRPro on Pixabay
