The Master said,
“It is not easy to find a man who can study for three years
without thinking about earning a salary.”
—Analects of Confucius - Book 8, Chapter 12
Losing sleep over your job is so annoying, but flipping the mind’s OFF switch to separate work and life has always been a challenge, especially since it takes up such a big chunk of time. I was expanding upon the notion of being a “prisoner” in certain capacities with a fellow philosopher (as voiced in the previous post), and careers were one of those “prisons” discussed.
I’ve romanticized the notion of casting away all material and monetary attachments and moving to an ashram in some far-off land to live unemployed, but I’ve also wondered if doing so would just be an escape. Sure, maybe there’s freedom in becoming a monk—meditating your days away on the top of a mountain somewhere, living off the bare minimum and whatnot—but would I be doing it in the pursuit of enlightenment and happiness, or would I be doing it to avoid the frustrations and challenges that come with a “normal” life down here on earth?
There’s plenty of growth and healing to be had in the face of tests in office politics or financial pursuits, as non-new age spiritual as those things might sound. I’ve worked through many triggers that have arisen in working a sales job over the last few years, including dealing with rejection, discomfort with public speaking, navigating the professional social landscape, and breaking through self-imposed financial limitations. Would those have come up while sitting in Lotus pose up on the hill? Certainly not in the same capacity as they did down here.
I think the answer (for me at least) is to find some kind of balance in it all, by getting in the float tank every Friday night to process the week, by journaling about life to hash out my thoughts. And then, of course, by putting imaginary pressure on myself to complete a book and blog on top of it all because, at the end of the day, I’m a workaholic and somehow find satisfaction in the imbalance. Please excuse my contradiction while I burn the candle at both ends.