Be patient with me today, I’m going to get philosophical.
I was walking the dog (Bella) this morning. Early. Sixish. Just following the route I usually do, having my morning talk with God, planning my day, clearing my head and enjoying the quiet. Stopping once in a while when Bella found a good place along the way to sniff.
Snow had fallen during the night, dropping a fresh coating on sidewalks and driveways. As I turned into a church drive I walk along as I head back home, I noticed that no one had yet walked on the drive since the snow had fallen. The straight flat black asphalt of the drive lay just below that white covering, hidden and undisturbed by man, beast or automobile.
As I stared at the driveway, about to take my first step, it suddenly occurred to me my day was much like that path I was about to take: new, fresh and, as of yet, undisturbed. I had a plan for the day just as I had a plan for my walk back home. But, at the end of the day, if I (or someone else) were to look back over the course my feet took, what would they say about me?
Would they say that I followed the straight path I laid out or did some temptation pull me off the path somewhere along the way? During the walk, did I somehow lose focus and then lose my direction and start wandering aimlessly for a while before getting back on the path? Or did I not return? Did I hear a call from someone in need along the way and stop to help them, or did I ignore the cry and keep going?
Perhaps I decided not to take that usual path and did my footprints show I struck off on a new and unexplored direction.
Being out of work gives one time to stop and think. I’m beginning a book a friend gave me called “Zen and the art of making a living,” by Laurence G. Boldt. It’s a big book, a guide to getting a job but to discovering one’s passion and then shaping it into a “meaningful and practical career.”
I don’t know if I will get through it but it’s interesting one to me especially at this point in my life. Among the quotes in the book is one by Leonardo da Vinci: “Make your work to be in keeping with your purpose.”
That’s what I am looking for. It would be wonderful to have a career is in tune with my purpose. It also would be great to have a career that provides income enough to allow me to pursue that purpose after hours.
It would also be great to just have a job.
This morning I started to walk across that fresh asphalt. The dog however had other ideas. She stopped to sniff and then to pee. I waited. She finished and looked up at me to see where we were going to go next. I looked at the fresh snow on the path and the higher mounds along the sides. I looked back a the path. I moved on.
Trains, Reins and Shantyboys 