Friday, September 7, 2012

Job satisfaction

I started out thinking that this post would be called "I love my job," but that is not always true.

Heck, for most of us, jobs are ways we make money to support families, friends, and ourselves.  If we are really lucky, however, there is some point at which we can say that the "love my job" (or even "enjoy my job") moments outweigh the "hate my job" moments. 

But for myself, I am surprised to realize, in reflection, how those moments have morphed and changed over the years.  The same repetitive tasks that I hated at one point in my job became refuges of peace and quiet and meditation when my parents became ill and we careened from one health care crisis to another, as I say.  Honestly, the whole job became a refuge, because although it was more often than not wild and crazy, it was a predictable wild and crazy.  A controllable wild and crazy.  And my life caring for parents was a never-ending roller-coaster of unpredictable wild and crazy.

Today the very thing which I thought I'd love about being a priest, some flexibility, is often a problem. My calendar is a wreck, and I despair at the time it takes to manage it!  But being able to be flexible enough to sit and listen to the elder who drops in and, I suspect, has no one to listen to him, is a gift.  Yes, it's all in the perspective. 

I think it is a gift to have a moment to think about the jobs and vocations we do have:  there is usually something positive there. Making a difference, making a good product, making a good living are all important positives.

And if there is nothing positive AT ALL, maybe it's time to talk to God about next steps. 

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