How Can You Love What You Get Paid to Do?

As talented and amazing as many of us are, the fact remains, you gotta pay the bills. The concept of doing what you love, following your heart, letting go - and letting God provide, is valid and positive. However, I've been giving this a fair bit of thought lately. It brought me back to thinking about my working and creative lives.

My Mom was a single parent. My Dad died when I was 15, and I was the eldest of three children. Back when my Mom was a teenager, she had to drop out of high school, even though she was an honour student. She was the only daughter, and the eldest child. In those days, the belief was a woman was going to get married, and stay home anyway, so why spend a lot to educate her. She took a nine month long course in stenography, worked for three years, got married, and had us.

That worked just fine, until my Dad died. With only a grade 10 education and out-dated clerical skills, my Mom was thrust back into the work-force. What she loved was staying home with her kids. What she had to do was work. She took some upgrading, and found a job with the local school board. That way, she could have the same time off as we did. There was a price for making that choice. The pay was low, and there was little opportunity for advancement.

My Mom worked for the school board doing various clerical jobs until she retired. Did she love what she did? Not particularly. But, she didn't hate it either. It was a means to support her kids. Because she was a single Mom who cared about doing the best job she could, she didn't have a lot of time to pursue creative endeavors. She's not a writer or an artist or an entrepreneur. She's a widow on a pension with three grown kids and six grand-children.

Observing what happened to my Mom's life had a big impact on me. As we were growing up, we had to scrimp and save for everything. Watching her struggle made me determined to pick a safe and secure job. I chose teaching, and did so, until ill-health made it impossible to continue. Did I love my job? Sometimes. I truly enjoyed teaching and interacting with most of the kids. I didn't enjoy the discipline and supervision. I didn't enjoy working 10 hours a day, plus one day on the weekend, marking and preparing. The stress was quite extraordinary at times. But, I also loved coaching and hanging out with the kids, and with some of my fellow teachers. It wasn't awful and it wasn't extraordinary either.

Most people live like this. They put on their suits and ties, or work-boots and tool-belts, and they go to work. Everyday. With two weeks of paid vacation a year. Sometimes they get a few more than two. Why do they do that? Because they have to. And, because we all need them to. Society needs janitors, garbage men, accountants, waitresses, secretaries, proctologists, policemen, day-care providers, sewage and septic workers, etc. Many of them have a passion for writing, or painting, or preaching. Some have it for dancing, or singing or gardening. Many would love to make a living doing what they are passionate about.

For some of us, the contrast between - what we have to do to make a living - and what we truly want to do - is undermining. We fall victim to the "only if" syndrome. "Only if I could make a living as a writer, then I could quit this job, and be happy." Or, "Only if I didn't have to spend so much time making a living, then I could do what I really want." It makes for a lot of unhappy, unfulfilled people.

Some people, like my Mom, handle their situations with resignation. They accept what they have to do, and aren't particularly happy or unhappy. Their job is a means to an end, and they don't get submerged in too much negativity. But, some of them don't have very well-rounded lives either. Facing retirement has been tough for my Mom. Other than work and family, she didn't develop many outside relationships or interests.

Is there a happy medium between living your dream, and making a living? I think there has to be. When I am writing, or painting, or throwing clay, time stands still. I get a glimpse of the Divine during these times, and it gives me great contentment. This is, in fact, meditation. That state of blissful awareness is what makes the things we love to do so incredible. But here's the thing. Everything I do has the potential to deliver me to that kind of bliss. The only thing standing in the way of blissful awareness in all activity is my attitude. When I find myself thinking, "I'd rather be doing something else," I become impatient and negative. If I can lose myself in the joy of the doing - even when it's the most mundane of tasks - I can find contentment in everything I do. Everything. (It ain't easy, but it is possible.)

One of the more well-known verses from the Bhagavad-Gita is:
"You have control over action alone,
Never over its fruits. Live not for
The fruits of action, nor attach
Yourself to inaction." (Ch. 2 v.47) (1)

So, back to the question: How do we love what we get paid to do? That question is answered by this verse. The "payment" does not come in the form of a pay-cheque or accolades or even in the type of job we do. It comes in the doing itself. This verse tells us to immerse ourselves in the joy of doing, and that joy alone. The real "pay-cheque" - the true satisfaction - comes from this.

The Rolling Stones sang:
"You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes. well you just might find, You get what you need" (2)
If we can find contentment when we're getting what we "need" - then, that is pure gold.

- © Catherine Dale, April 18th, 2007

1. p. 133, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the Bhagavad-Gita - Translation and Commentary - Chapters 1-6 (Arkana - A division of Penguin Books, 1967)
2. Artist: Rolling Stones, Album: The Love You Live Mick Jagger and Keith Richards,