Work Worth Living
It seems like every time I get in the elevator now, I get a special message with another reason why corporate life is not for me. Yesterday, on my first ride up, two older women got in and were talking about how sleep deprived they were. And if you look around the large corporation I work for, you’ll see that almost everyone is sleep deprived. Zombies. We hear much talk these days about our dependence on oil, but I shutter to think what would happen if there was a disruption to coffee supply lines. It would cripple my company, I am sure.
The cause is rooted in several soils. I suspect that most of us spend our evenings trying to forget our day. Days of multi-tasking, problem-solving, and politicking put us in a state where it is near impossible to direct our thoughts to something other than work. Though everyone has their favorite distractions, I suspect TV, alcohol, and drugs (prescribed and otherwise) are the most popular. In fact, in the conversation the two women were having, one mentioned a TV show she had watched about the effects of sleep deprivation. I wondered if she was watching the TV show late at night.
My point is not to pass judgment on these two women, for I am as guilty of wasting my time at night as anyone. It just makes me wonder what we are missing out on in life as individuals and as a society if we spend most of our waking hours doing work we do not like in order to support a life in which we are too drained to actually live it, let alone enjoy it.
Which brings me back to the importance of finding work worth living. By “work worth living,” I mean supporting oneself financially by doing something that one would enjoy even if they were not getting paid. Each and every one of us has but a limited amount of time. And if our time is limited and we must earn money, we should all be so lucky to find work that pays us to have a good time.
3 Comments:
True dat! But once you start working and getting paid for it, it is no longer nearly as fun as when you did it as a hobby.
I am also sleep deprived and am going blind. I look like a freaking racoon!
I could barely read I'm so tired. Just got done punchin' the clock, nine hours today. This madness must end. Hopefully I'll find that not really a job-job soon.
A child arrived just the other day,
He came to the world in the usual way.
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay.
He learned to walk while I was away.
And he was talking 'fore I knew it, and as he grew,
He'd say, "I'm gonna be like you, dad.
You know I'm gonna be like you."
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."
My son turned ten just the other day.
He said, "Thanks for the ball, dad, come on let's play.
Can you teach me to throw?" I said, "Not today,
I got a lot to do." He said, "That's ok."
And he walked away, but his smile never dimmed,
Said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah.
You know I'm gonna be like him."
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."
Well, he came from college just the other day,
So much like a man I just had to say,
"Son, I'm proud of you. Can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head, and he said with a smile,
"What I'd really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys.
See you later. Can I have them please?"
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
You know we'll have a good time then."
I've long since retired and my son's moved away.
I called him up just the other day.
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind."
He said, "I'd love to, dad, if I could find the time.
You see, my new job's a hassle, and the kid's got the flu,
But it's sure nice talking to you, dad.
It's been sure nice talking to you."
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me,
He'd grown up just like me.
My boy was just like me.
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
You know we'll have a good time then."
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