Meet Luke Vandergriff

 

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Luke Vandergriff. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Luke below.

Hi Luke , really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

Honestly, I grew up with a sense of purpose, until I lost it. Being a pastor’s kid, the idea of saving the world, and helping the poor was always presented to me as a noble cause. I wanted to make a difference since I was little and so I followed that sense of purpose down to Bolivia, South America, where I pursued a career as a missionary. However, the religious ladder felt slippery, like I would climb up two rungs, slip, and fall three. After a decade or so, I was frustrated and desperate for some kind of change. That’s when God, the universe or whatever you like to call it, told me that my place of influence wasn’t in the religious setting. Having spent my entire life so far focused on this one purpose, to lose it was like losing my entire sense of identity.

It would have been nice to have received a few more details, but the only clue I got was the word ‘creativity’. The next few years I struggled with depression and even thoughts of suicide. I taught English as a foreign language but wasn’t particularly good at it. I also translated documents from Spanish and Portuguese into English but wasn’t very good at that either. Deep down I knew I was meant to do something else, but what? Creativity still resonated in my soul calling me to pursue my passion, but I had mouths to feed. Finally, I set aside some time to rewire my brain. I started journaling and writing down a vision for a new life where I got to pursue my passion for the arts while inspiring and encouraging others. Little by little, opportunities for me to do what I longed to do started to appear.

It was one opportunity in particular that solidified my new purpose. 2019, there was a forest fire that consumed 15,000,000 acres of the Chiquitania region of Bolivia. It devastated thousands of communities. One weekend, I volunteered with the Red Cross to take water, food and other supplies to these communities. However, I also took my ukulele. After making a delivery, I asked if I could share a song I had written. Tears welled up in people’s eyes. The leader of that community thanked me for sharing the song saying that they were grateful for the supplies but they needed the encouragement I gave them even more. After that weekend, I knew I had to go back. I assembled a team of musicians and returned to perform in five different communities, inspiring hope through music. Not only did the people respond with much gratitude, but so did the musicians I took with me. They had never experienced such a sense of purpose before. And that is when I knew that my purpose was to inspire hope and creativity through the arts.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I follow curiosity on creative adventures, exploring the good, the true, and the beautiful through art, music, and story. In other words, I refuse to do just one thing for the rest of my life.

What have I done in 2024 so far? I’ve painted murals, I’ve told stories, I’ve played concerts here and there, I spoke on how to find your passion and purpose at Bartin University in Bartin, Turkiye.

Currently what I’m most excited about is “Pepito & The Trash Cans”, a musical story about a little boy in Bolivia who longs to play música, but scarcity and misfortune stand in his way. Eventually, he overcomes by making his own instrumentos out of bottles, cans, and other upcycled materials. Throughout the show, I play an array of homemade instruments. I am performing in schools, libraries, festivals, and other venues.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Intuition, Courage & Diligence

I don’t just rely on what’s logic. Intuition is a heart-based sense that connects us to our higher selves. It provides wisdom, purpose, passion, pure motives, and encouragement when things get tough.

However, your intuition usually doesn’t offer you the easiest path. You will need courage to overcome your fears in order to pursue your passion and purpose.

And even if you had a clearly drawn-out treasure map, getting there is going to require diligence and perseverance. Doing what you love, doesn’t mean that you always love doing it. Pursuing your passion isn’t all fun and games. You will have to push through many tedious tasks to get where you want to go.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

Not only did they instill in me a moral compass and a desire to serve others, but they also let me be me. In high school, I realized that I didn’t fit in with any of the social clicks. I wasn’t punk, or a metalhead, or preppy, or jock. So, I decided that I would rebel against anything mainstream. I was into Native American cultures at the time so I bought a pair of knee-high mocassins and wore those to school. From there, I did all kinds of crazy things with my clothes and hair. My parents just laughed and let me explore my individuality. When I wanted to be a missionary, they proudly sent me off, and when I wanted to come home and pursue the arts, they received me with open arms.

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Image Credits

Luke Vandergriff
Zion Vandergriff

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