I'm a firm believer of life pulling me in different directions, at different times, for reasons well beyond my ability to interpret. I have been on an amazing journey of self exploration, in a time when I am far from the only one on such a path.
I used to think that I would forever be a slave to a 9-5 job, at the same place, for the foreseeable future. I used to get quite anxious during the months where time off seemed to only fall on the weekends, and I could feel myself fizzling out well before the month was over. The recession hit, and no matter how hard we worked I had to watch us let go one employee after another. Then it was my turn. Being laid off was one of the best things that could have happened to me at that time. I would not have agreed when I was terrified of how I would pay my bills, maintain my relationship, my self esteem even. It frustrates me to no end when I hear people using blanket statements that accuse anyone laid off as "lazily sitting at home collecting checks". This is after all an employment crisis. People want to be self sufficient in many cases. In my case it was terribly difficult emotionally to accept help, and to accept that I was smack in the middle of the great unknown. The great "recession".
Being forced to think outside my box allowed me to look at work as more than just how I pay my bills. I saw it as a way for myself to pursue more passion in what I do in my employment endeavors. Through self reflection I found skills that I have possessed most of my life, things that I had never considered a business asset before, but now I see that I can market these skills allowing myself to explore more of my passions while earning my wages. Passion is one of the most important things we can pursue in this life. Something that just fills us with that sense of, well, being alive rather than just being present.
I look at the world around me differently. I look at myself differently. We must evolve after all, our existence demands it. Adaptation is a trait of those species which hope to survive into the future. Our best technologies are those which adapt to the needs of those requiring it's existence. We are not machines, but we too have to be adaptable. We too have to serve the needs of that which requires our existence. In this case we owe it to ourselves to adapt not only to the needs of our species, or of our society, but to the needs of the one person who matters most in our journey, ourselves.
I challenge you to look within yourself. Who better to know what makes you "come alive". Find your passions in life, then ask yourself if your career choice is supporting those passions, and allowing you to bring them with you when you "clock in". If we spend the majority of the day just going through the motions, how much of our day do we really feel "alive"? We are alive every second of our existence. Some just more than others. This should not be a matter of who gets lucky enough to find a job that encourages their creativity, or passion. This should be something we demand for ourselves, and for our well being. That we demand from our societies, for their well being. Our societies exist only as a way of life for the many people connected to one another. So then why does it so frequently not allow it's people to feel good about life when they are on the job?
We are failing ourselves by going along with the status quo sometimes. We are failing our neighbors, our brothers, and our sisters. In a time when "JOBS" is the hottest topic. What better time to rethink how we put people back to work. What those jobs are like. How the work life balance will be achieved. We don't have to settle. This is the social world that we help create. It is within our ability to change it if it isn't working towards the well being of all of it's people. With as many people around the world taking their own lives every day due to their working conditions, I wonder if America's pursuit of never ending "rises in profit", or numbers that look good for political candidates at the polls will lead us into a similar situation more than they already have. When you consider how many people have to medicate themselves just to get out of bed everyday, when you consider how our busy lives have contributed to obesity or the opposite in some cases, when you look at the rampant drug use, when you listen to the dissatisfaction of those we claim to care about it says to me that we have a long way to go before our societies reflect the best of the Human spirit. We have settled for what is in front of us for far too long. It is time to ask yourself this question. If you are not living a life pursuing your passions as often as you can, if you are not taking chances to reclaim your health or to balance your life again, why your not and how you can change that. Be you, be the best you that you can be. Be that as often as possible. Love yourself, and those around you.
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