#19 The Calling
October 10, 2025
When I was at primary school a teacher went around the room asking each of us: “Do you want to be famous?” When she got to me I said ’no’. She was confused, she’d been expecting a yes. “Well, do you want to be known in your field and respected by your peers?” (god bless all teachers) to which I could only possibly answer ‘yes’.
I don’t consider myself ambitious – I’ve never been motivated to achieve a big end goal. So how is it that I’ve worked consistently and diligently on Glass Cathedrals for over 20 years, despite not trying to get to a final destination?
I was confused, but, a few years ago, I read the poet David Whyte’s short essay “The Dream of Ambition” in his book Consolations.
By his explanation, the reason one can lack ambition, yet be devoted to one’s work – is if you’re answering your calling, a different thing altogether.
“Ambition left to itself, always becomes tedious, its only object the creation of larger and larger empires of control…The ease of having an ambition is that it can be explained to others; the very dis-ease of ambition is that it can be so easily explained to others.”
“A calling is a conversation between our physical bodies, our work, our intellects and imaginations, and a new world that is itself the territory we seek.”
Whyte’s essay made me see my work in a more generous and mysterious light, giving my miniature meanderings a sense of coherence and worth, and inspiring decisions I may otherwise not have made. (More of which in my last newsletter to celebrate the last 20 years of Glass Cathedrals “To Small to Fail” coming soon.)
It’s remarkable how many of us do manage to answer a calling against the odds – work we can devote our lives to. The many variations are testament to the diversity and brilliance of human endeavour – scientist, teacher, activist, social worker, celebrant, parent, industrialist, therapist, accountant, carer, energy worker, writer, animal lover, poet, nature steward, athlete, artist, actor…
I’ve made dozens of Glass Cathedrals of people pursuing their callings – they may not describe it as such, but that’s what’s in the box!
“Perhaps the greatest legacy we can leave from our work is…the passing on of a sense of sheer privilege, of having found a road, a way to follow, and then having been allowed to walk it, often with others, with all its difficulties and minor triumphs; the underlying primary gift, of having been a full participant in the conversation.” (David Whyte)
My work couldn’t reach full fruition or in fact mean much at all, without you lot. And the Glass Cathedrals that most perfectly embody my feeling of privilege in doing this work, are the ones I’ve given away. Usually this happens when I hold competitions, people answering the question “What would be in your Glass Cathedral?‘.
‘The Deepest Wish’
In her Glass Cathedral, Jane-Amanda sits with her mum, chatting. They didn’t get to share this simple pleasure in real life, because her mum died when she was only three. “I would ask what made her happy. What made her sad. What was her favourite perfume. Her favourite food. Her loves. Her dislikes. I would hope to see pride in her eyes at me and my brother and our families we have built and our close relationship as brother and sister. But most of all I would tell her I love her and miss her”
When Jane-Amanda thought of what may be possible inside a Glass Cathedral, away from the noise and complications of this world, she was led to a private and hidden place where her deepest wish could be expressed.
‘My Happy Place’
Bessie already knew that the greatest gift she could give her son Stavros, was memories to treasure – especially of Kyparissi, the Greek village her family hailed from. Only when Bessie replied to the news that she’d won a Glass Cathedral of Kyparissi did I realise how perfect it would be for her, to be passed on to her son.
“I am in tears! I can’t even begin to express how much this means to me. My son has special needs and as an older parent, every move I make, is to prepare him and make memories for him, and now I will have a magical piece made by you to share with him that he will carry with him forever!”.
‘u r loved’
Twenty-year old Poppy instinctively understood the healing power of art, and in particular the emotional impact of seeing yourself in miniature. “I would be so lucky to have a very special box created which I can look at every day to remind myself that I am not alone.”
She’d struggled with mental health since her big sister passed away eight years before, but had rebuilt her life with amazing support from friends and nurses. Her Glass Cathedral contains symbols of all the elements that have helped her move forward, reminding Poppy that though she is vulnerable in some ways, she’s also a miraculous creature.
And so to all you tiny miracles of life! Thanks for reading and have a jolly fine weekend,
Love Lisa