Pondering time passage, careers, life...

Sometimes when you are sitting watching the days pass by, you can't help but wonder what it all means. What is the significance of all this? Why are there all of these phases and passages in life? I realized this evening as I sat around avoiding the laundry I needed to iron, I realized the distance I've put between not only who I was in high school, who I was at St. Joe's, who I was at UWYO... but even who I was in the various incarnations of "Post College" George. For the first time, as I sat there thinking about the past (going on 6 years now since college), I realized that ages 22, 23, hell, even 25 & 26 were worlds ago. And I realized that perhaps I was a different person with different priorities. I suppose my top priority in life is preserving my quality of life, and improving it where I can. Most important is enjoying the time I've got.

I've got to say I've never completely understood the career driven people who don't really have a specific goal. I'm talking about the idea that climbing to the top continuously (the proverbial corporate ladder) is a must. To me it seems like this is a trap, because you will always want more than what you currently have. People with goals that are more concrete like, I want to have this much saved by this time, I want to help someone, I want to buy property, I want to send my kids to college, I want to get my PhD, and so on... These seem to make sense because they are finite goals that physically change the world around you. You can affect other peoples lives for the positive.

A continuing... and in my view pointless status climb without direction seems nothing more than self serving, and to what end? Permanent dis-satisfaction because you always want what your boss has? I think if unchecked, pride- the quest for "status", is much like greed. It is insatiable.

Now if you are going to justify your career by the improved lifestyle it provides you (nice home, living in the city, going out, going on vacations, etc..), I think you can really make it work, so long as you don't let the climb take place of those goals you originally intended to achieve.

It is really tough to find a job that satisfies you, but if nothing else perhaps you can find one that helps you quench various other thirsts in your life, if only indirectly.

I have the idealized belief that we were put here to improve humankind, each and every one of us. I think my goal in this world is to have a positive impact on people I encounter. Some people are lucky enough to have the talent to come up with something Brilliant to save lives. Others make that idea a reality. Some might help people along their lifetime. Others, in a manner that is completely unrelated to "personal goals" or "career" just make life a bit more pleasant with their attitude and thoughts. I would like to aspire to be that sort of person.

But of course it would be nice to have the best of both worlds too!

I'm ending today's post with a picture taken at York Beach last summer (actually I think this technically isn't York Beach, it is the one right in the village of York, and I forget the name) It was a spectacular summer day. I don't think the picture reflects it well, but the water was a beautiful turquoise that you would expect to see in a tropical area, and I was quite taken by that because I've never seen it look like that anywhere else in New England. The picture is funny, because looking at it, the photo almost looks out of date, as though lost in time. It could have easily been taken in the 60s as in present day, and there is very little to distinguish that. This was one of my favorite days last summer, Kate & I took a late afternoon swim at Wells Beach after walking around York. York was a wonderfully quaint tourist town, where I had never been. Wells Beach, was probably the ocean beach for swimming I've been to in Maine. A close runner up is Higgins/Scarborough beach. Both beaches share the trait of good waves (relative to other New England Beaches) and a shallow grade allowing you to go far out before it becomes too deep.




Anyway... I thought this would be nice to dream of leading into your weekend. Summer will be here soon!