What Are You Doing?

Have You Ever Wondered What You Are Doing?

For me the past couple of weeks have been… interesting.

As many of you will already be aware, I have chosen to walk a new path in the world and train to become an R.E. teacher. My course of training begins in just under 4 weeks time and, understandably, I am pretty excited and energised by the expectation.

Yet, as I work towards leaving my current employment and passing on the baton to others within the business within which I have worked for almost 4 years, I find myself questioning the achievements of those years.

What Value Your Work?

Each of us, ultimately, has to decide for ourselves how we would evaluate our contribution to the world around us (assuming we value the idea of contributing at all). Value is essentially a subjective thing – you may or not value what I do, but if I decide that my actions are of value then that is at least something.

For some of us, of course, there are some external valuing systems that we draw upon too. Some of us might listen to the opinion of a spouse or partner, friends, family, or colleagues. It seems to me that it is a rare individual who does not pay attention to the expectations and valuing systems of the culture that they live within. Perhaps such a person, freed from external pressure, would be more of a danger than might at first seem obvious… or perhaps not.

For me, caring deeply about the opinion of my wife and listening to the disparate and (arguably) questionable views of colleagues, friends, and family… well, for me the answer to the question is a mixed one.

Is There A Greater Authority?

Clearly, having planted my life firmly within a particular tribal group labelled “Christian”, for myself there is an expectation to behave under the authority of the Christian God.

But what about you? What authorities do you, consciously or not, bow before?

I cannot, and would not seek to try to, answer this… not least because I don’t know who’s reading. 😉

But I remember that there have been many voices in my life that seemed to make sense. Those were voices that I bowed to almost unthinkingly, driven as I was by the socialisation that I am told we all undergo. Voices such as the call to buy, the call to succeed, the need to work, and the expectation to procreate.

Who is calling the tune in your life?

Are you truly the one making the decisions?

Would being the sole evaluator of our lives ever truly be possible?

Who can say? I was just simply musing.