More than
15 years in the corporate grind and I found myself questioning, "What the beep are you doing in
life?". The last few months the answer that came resounding back was,
"I have no freakin' clue. But I know I'm not loving what I'm doing. I
don't know what I should be doing. But this is definitely not
"IT"". So I quit and began an active search for "IT". Pretty much the classic midlife crisis. I talked with my buddies. Saw the exciting,
explosive growth with app startups everywhere, and felt I needed to be a part
of this. I mean if you're not doing an app, you're just not with the program!
Suddenly there were a dozen options. But nothing really resonated deeply. So I
decided to just take some time off to relax, think about it and well, just NOT
think about it....
And it
was tough. I mean tough! The first few weeks there were withdrawal symptoms. In
my case, it manifested as a pseudo-imaginary disease. Once that was behind, I
decide I'd be better off taking up consulting offers - you
know - just so I don't "lose touch". I also made a
prodigious list of things to do - mundane things that I've procrastinated for
years now - file taxes, get online parental control for my kids, clean up my
closet, etc. I got going on these with a passion that made my family cringe and
pray, "When is he going to get back to work?" But it wasn't all
work - there was the fun list - you see - read a book, improve my tennis
backhand, party, catch up with friends (shame on me), go on a soul searching
pilgrimage.
And then
a buddy of mine gave me a book called "The Importance of living" by
Lin Yutang in which there was one chapter that just grabbed my attention. Now
you see I am a pretty spiritual guy - I meditate daily, practice mindfulness
and all that good stuff. Just get me started on Eckhart Tolle, Ramakrishna,
Gibran or Yogananda and you'll have a really hard time stopping me. Some of my
colleagues would head the other way when they saw me approaching, lest I
unleash a Zen story on them. And so I was surprised that this little gem
had evaded me so long. The chapter was, "The Importance of
Loafing!" and believe me....he's not talking bread here.
Amazing!
Here I was scurrying along like a rat (even without my corporate wheel) when
all I really needed to do was this. LOAF! My only goal now is to become
the biggest and best loafer of all. Folks should bow their head in reverence
and whisper in awe as I amble by, "Wow!- there goes one of the biggest
loafers of our time!".
So move
over Nike - it's time to "Just Be". If you're finding no
pleasure in work, then listen to Gibran, "Work is love made visible. And if you can't work with
love, but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and
sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of the people who work with joy". Join me at the gates of the temple. Or if it's just that you're overworked, please PLEASE get
some rest. Heed the counsel of Ovid, the Roman poet, "Take rest; a
field that has rested gives a bountiful crop."
Well this
is it for now. This is way too much hard work. I have some really important
loafing to get to......
