When I Grow Up, I Want to Give the Best Years of My Life to My Employer

When I was a child, I didn’t fully understand how much of your life you spend at work, getting ready for work, commuting to work, and thinking about work. What is the point? I feel like I haven’t discovered my life’s purpose. Each week that passes me by, I wonder what it is I’m supposed to be doing. Shouldn’t we be doing something more meaningful than going to work 40+ hours a week? I guess for some folks, their work brings them meaning and purpose. Lucky bastards.

I enjoy my job. I feel like I am making a difference in people’s lives; however, I don’t feel like it brings any great depth to my life. I can’t tell if I’m just being whiny or if I should be doing something different.

That brings me to something completely different (but maybe related): meditation. I can’t remember if I mentioned this, but I’m going back and listening to Dreamland from the earliest archives available. Almost every other episode, someone will mention meditation in once context or another. Meditation has so many benefits (also) both psychologically and physically. I should meditate. I know I should meditate and I’ve told myself that I should start meditating. And I have… occasionally. More like very rarely. Actually, it really doesn’t count when it only happens about once every 3 months.

I have become much better at journaling on a more regular basis to help me manage stress but also to just write. My (very limited) practice of yoga has been rather on and off. And then there’s my non-existent meditation practice. So there is clearly room for improvement. My problem is I never know what the best time is to meditate – if I try it right when I wake up, I promptly fall back asleep and if I try it right before bed, I promptly fall asleep. When I practice yoga, I find mediation to be a terrific way to finish up, but again, my yoga practice is rather irregular.

I’m making this harder than it needs to be, aren’t I?

That was one of the many things I loved about Tae Kwon Do – we would meditate at the start and at the end of class. Sometimes it was pretty short, but it’s amazing what even 5 minutes can do.

I need to make time.