Slaves of happiness
A written assignment for a class, that I thought I’d share with the world<3
From a very young age, we are encouraged to think about our future profession, specifically answers to the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?”. We are exposed to a variety of professions, such as firefighters, doctors, teachers and the like. Finding the right path to take is often regarded as a crucial task in the beginning of one’s career, a door to your future grown self, so to say. But what we are rarely taught is that it is quite alright to not be fully engrossed in a profession that you have chosen. It is possible to change careers, courses of study, experiment and try out different adventures until you find something that resonates with your passions and desires. Such a change simply needs courage.
Work may seem like a scary term for some, because semantically it can be synonymous to “prison” in the abstract sense. If you do not feel content in your profession, you suffer as if you are caged, finishing tasks for a “treat” at the end of the month. And it is loathsome to work a full month in a state of poignancy to have a short moment of relief, only to have this moment swiftly brushed away by responsibilities that have to be paid. In the end, we are left with the same cycle every month. We work to get paid. And as sad as that may sound, it is the reality in the world we live in.
Not liking the job you have can have one of two reasons: 1) you do not like the place where you work at, meaning the company or establishment; and 2) you do not like your profession. And both cases are completely normal. Why should we endure such “torture” if we do not love what we do? In some cases we may not have the strength to say “no”, not only because of the fearful consequences of being homeless and hungry, but also because we were never taught to be okay with not liking a specific path that we have taken. Referring back to my earlier point, as children we are also often scolded for “leaving something unfinished” or “wasting time”. We aren’t taught that change is sometimes good, or even beneficial. Such situations could be the cause why we are afraid to quit our jobs and risk the comfort of a steady life to pursue dreams and passions.
Work needs to be part of our lives, not a separate life we have to endure. It is both exhausting and unhappy to have to live a life with two versions 5 or 6 days of the week. Work does already play a crucial role in our lives because, unfortunately, money is what makes our lives heaven or hell. Therefore, accepting the fact that in most cases we need to have a job, we are free to choose what that job actually is. Nevertheless, we shouldn’t be slaves of money. We should be slaves of happiness, if that makes sense. We should work to be jubilant. When our jobs provide satisfaction and delight, the money will come.
Whether we choose to be firefighters, teachers, stay-at-home parents, dog-sitters, technology developers or chefs, we should love what we do. Our path needs to fill us with happiness and excitement. Even if one path does not provide such necessities (yes, they are necessities of life), you are free to change courses until you find one that resonates with you. Fear of change should not extinguish the fire that burns within all of us. As the famous quote says, “Do something you love and you will never have to work a day in your life”.
Love and pancakes,
Dew
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