Zen & the Art of Making a Living

I'm not the only one on a quest to find purpose in this world. It seems so many friends around me are seeking the same truth. Where should I focus my energy? What do I love enough to spend almost every day of my life doing? My high school friend, Ali is asking the same questions in her blog "Where's My Calling?" and another friend of a friend I've found in my facebook feed, Vanessa, is hoping to find her life's zen, captured in her blog "The Year of Passion".

Maybe it's our age group - the early to mid-twenties. In the past year I feel like I've literally stood still and watched the world turn in front of me. It's as if childhood was a dream. One day turns to another in a whirl of colour and play. A life dictated by play continues on through high school, university, and even a few years after that, caught in the phase between dream and waking. For me, it's as if I've just been awaken. It's the morning, but I can still relive my dream perfectly in my mind. My childhood was fun, spontaneous, uncommitted, jovial, care-free, exciting. In no way do I want to lose that. Au contraire. My dilemma is trying to harness that excitement every day, but with a purpose. I suppose I want to transform my sense of play into love for what I do (play+work=love). Work and play can't be separate.

A passage from Zen & the Art of Making a Living explains this well:

"Life and work are not things apart. Work is more than gaining privileges and possessions; it is ongoing, ecstatic, living experience. When we really love what we are doing, we no longer feel as though we must be king. We can just be ALIVE at work. When we live in the bliss, there is no difficulty that is insurmountable. If we miss the bliss, there is no compensation that is adequate." (15)

It's not the person I remember saying this, it's the message that has stayed with me over the years. I think it was one of my teachers, but I can't remember exactly. He or she said something along these lines: "So many people spend all their energy trying to determine their passion. When asking yourself, 'what do I want be when I grow up?', you need not look very hard. Often times, your passion is right in front of your nose. It's what you love to do and therefore do well. It's your favourite hobby or past time. When you translate this into your life's work, that's when you'll be complete."

The only thing I've ever truly loved is art. Not necessarily fine art, but any type of creative art. I love creating, designing, crafting, building, matching, pairing, painting, sculpting, sketching, doodling... the list goes on. I never thought that these "fun" things could be work. I'm envious of those who knew that from the start! Arg.

I think I've finally chosen a direction. Now I just need the tenacity to work with it. Tomorrow is my birthday. Let's see what the next year holds...