Start of a new month.
So here it is, the start of a new month, and I'm just slog, slog, slogging again.
It occurred to me that I have always played in my passions as a side-gig. Like Andre Gide, I think, I did not want to burden the things I loved doing with the expectation that they would somehow support me completely in the lifestyle to which I really would like to get accustomed. (Hee!)
(If you put too much expectations too soon on the baby passions you're following, you can break yourself or get your dream kidnapped and held hostage to other priorities and obligations and considerations, ya know.)
It was a way, I told myself, to keep my passions "pure" or something. I would never, I told myself, be forced to compromise my Maker integrity that way.
What that did, instead, was add such a richness and satisfaction to my life that I am mostly pleased with my efforts -- whether they make money or not.
In pursuing various creative things, I trained myself to see opportunities to create everywhere. It became a default mindset, I suppose, and has added a lot of meaningful experiences in there. I got to know such a lot of heartful, soulful people along the way.
Also, I noticed a funny thing....my core job, over the years, has also become another source of meaning and has added substantial layers within my life that I truly do like. I've developed new strengths and strategies and such and it has been most excellent.
This doesn't mean that I'm planning to stop trying to figure out the most effective way to support myself with this blogging thing of mine. It just means I do appreciate what my gnarly, challenging day job has given me -- in life-lessons as well as taking care of the other life-necessities.
I know a lot of the career advisors out there tell you to dump your "boring" day-job and go follow your dreams. Me, I think I am going to plunk for never giving up going in the direction of my dreams and for making that day job more interesting along the way as well.
It leads to very interesting places, that.
What do you think?
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Your words about your core job remind me of working on a relationship. There are romance and giddiness, but most of the time it is work to make life compatible and therefore enjoyable. What I did not expect was to discover great satisfaction in grinding out a deep understanding and tolerance. Feels like building a bookshelf that looks good and, almost unexpectedly, doesn't fall apart.
I know exactly what you mean with keeping your passions pure. It is like wearing the good shirt only for special occasions. The only problem here is that I had shirts which fell to pieces without being worn enough.
Cheerio
Martin
Martin, thank you! I like your thoughts about core jobs and such.
The other thing you have me doing is revisiting my thoughts on keeping passions pure.
You are right, you know...about the good-shirt analogy when applied to keeping passions "pure." Hmmm...
It occurs to me that since these days I am an advocate for using the "good stuff" every day and dragging around old quilts and giving babies funny well-loved toys from other eras which inevitably means getting lovely china and crystal and all kinds of other stuff all goofed up and well-lived in, the "pure passion" thing is probably a crock-idea I adopted in one of my earlier phases.
Thanks, Martin. Pulling out the WD-40 and squirting it on these here old gears so that the creaky head can turn around thoughts some more.
-- Netta