Healthy
Cells
“This is
why finding what we love, though it may take years, is building a
life of passion. For what makes you come alive can keep you alive,
whether you are paid well for it or not. And beyond the fashion of
the job market, a life of passion makes us a healthy cell in the body
of the world.”
Mark Nepo
(The Book of Awakening)
When I was a young person
heading off to college, the jobs available for women were
limited—teacher, nurse, secretary, possibly bookkeeper, if you
happened to be really good with figures. My sister, Jerrie, was an
aberrant female, who majored in statistics in college. College
graduates knew that whatever field they chose would be
productive—there would be jobs waiting, and they could pick and
choose. We didn't think much about passion, or what made us come
alive. If we had, I would have majored in art. Since art was not
considered a reasonable college choice, even for a girl, I had to
squeeze those classes in around the edges as electives. My passion
was diverted into teaching, and though I brought some creativity to
that field, the deep dive into art-making remained on the sidelines.
Now, as then, it seems
that the job market drives college decisions. I have a young friend who
loves animals, who has wanted to be a veterinarian her whole life,
and was even accepted into vet school, which is no easy feat. But,
she decided that the job market was not ideal, she would likely not
make enough money in that field, so she changed her major. I know
others who have gone into computer science fields, though they loathe
working at a computer all day. Nowadays, students coming out of high
school are told the best jobs are in engineering—and no doubt they
are, but what if you don't have a genuine interest in engineering?
Will you become a successful engineer?
And then there is the
whole generation X, who had the bad—or possibly, the good—fortune
to have graduated at the moment of the economic melt-down. Their
degrees, no matter what they happened to be, meant very little
because the jobs simply weren't there. As a result, they have learned
to innovate. I heard this week, that the daughter of a friend
of mine is making her living by raising goats, and making products--soaps and body
lotions--from their milk. Many Gen-Xers' have created a life based on
their passionate interests. To be sure, they may be struggling
financially, but many of them are doing what they love. You tell
me—which is better?
When we listen to our
hearts, and choose to do what brings us alive, our whole body/mind
dances. We work hard, but hard work feels good; we strive, and are
happy striving. As Mark Nepo says, we become “a healthy cell in the
body of the world.” In other words, we become a blessing, both to
ourselves and to others.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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