Being cut loose from responsibility, expectation and familiarity on my
recent writing retreat made me realize something: most people live to
work, I work to live.
What I mean by that is that the job, the work experience and the lifestyle that it affords, is the framework that most people build their lives around. With 40 plus hours working, a long commute, accompanying stress and only 2 weeks off a year forces us to hustle around the fringes to live a 'life' filled with toys and distractions to help us forget the day we've had. If you're lucky, you like your job. For some the job is their lives, consuming their day, their thoughts and their relationships. If their work and world clash the job comes first.
I've always put living first and work second. That's not to say that I haven't spent my share of years struggling with bills, kids and possible failure. But I have always taken a path that allowed me to make creative choices in my work that matched my life both in temperament and pace.
I deliberately chose to work alone and not to build a business, even though all my peers had done so. I wanted no employees, no growth trajectory, no overhead. Of course, this meant no expensive wine, no monster home, no exotic vacations. I couldn't care less. A modest rural home and a healthy family suit me fine and when I travel it is inside my imagination (I dare anyone to find a cheaper vacation!).
These past two weeks of unfettered imagination in a world of my invention reminded me that I created a life that asks of me only what I ask of myself. Now that there are no kids in the house and life is quiet, this is the time to reclaim and build on that.
What I mean by that is that the job, the work experience and the lifestyle that it affords, is the framework that most people build their lives around. With 40 plus hours working, a long commute, accompanying stress and only 2 weeks off a year forces us to hustle around the fringes to live a 'life' filled with toys and distractions to help us forget the day we've had. If you're lucky, you like your job. For some the job is their lives, consuming their day, their thoughts and their relationships. If their work and world clash the job comes first.
I've always put living first and work second. That's not to say that I haven't spent my share of years struggling with bills, kids and possible failure. But I have always taken a path that allowed me to make creative choices in my work that matched my life both in temperament and pace.
I deliberately chose to work alone and not to build a business, even though all my peers had done so. I wanted no employees, no growth trajectory, no overhead. Of course, this meant no expensive wine, no monster home, no exotic vacations. I couldn't care less. A modest rural home and a healthy family suit me fine and when I travel it is inside my imagination (I dare anyone to find a cheaper vacation!).
These past two weeks of unfettered imagination in a world of my invention reminded me that I created a life that asks of me only what I ask of myself. Now that there are no kids in the house and life is quiet, this is the time to reclaim and build on that.
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