“What do you do?”
Many of us determine our identity based on our careers and
our jobs - “I am a teacher”, “I am an accountant”, “I am a potato chip inspector”…. and
why wouldn't we? These are the forms in which purpose and structure are brought
to the majority of our day. However, in some ways I feel as though our culture has
made the questions “what do you do?” and “who are you?” synonymous with one
another?
You see, the question ‘who are you?’ leads to a more
complicated answer of passions, interests, belief systems etc. It’s a question
that is rarely asked and maybe should be more often. Somehow I fear that we are
too afraid to ask something deeper of one another and are quite comfortable with surface talk.
Might I suggest that there is something inherent that we
long for outside of work? We long to be accepted, to be valued and yet these
desires have nothing to do with our profession. If the value we place on our
profession is the only thing we find our value in then we are significantly
missing the mark.
By no means am I ‘back-peddling’ out of working. Work is the
outward expression of our passions. And, by no means do I pretend that I do not pour myself into
work and neglect everything else because I am completely guilty of that as well.
The irony is that my degree is in Therapeutic Recreation.
Yes, you heard right, Basket Weaving 101. Let me explain in a few short words
what I spent 6 years learning…
- Growth in every
aspect of your life is vital -
There are various domains to our well-being (spiritual,
emotional, physical, social) and if one of those is lacking, we may not feel fulfilled
or may overcompensate in other ways. Balance in one’s life brings growth,
beauty and perspective.
This time around (being temporarily unemployed), I have a completely different mind-set. I
know this season of life is short. One day soon I will have another job, down
the road we will have a family and there will never be enough time to be
balanced. Many of you may say this is entirely impossible and yet I still feel
that it is something to strive for. To acknowledge that we are so much more
than one form of identity – a co-worker, a mother, a good neighbor.
A friend of mine moved to another country two years ago and
recently found a job within the last year. When asked what she did for the
first year her reply was “I learned a lot about myself”. Those words resonated
with me for days and brought comfort to my soul. There have been various
seasons of my life and a few of them have been times of waiting. What an
opportunity I have to explore other aspects of myself that I have neglected for
far too long, to nurture other passions and gifts. I am grateful for this
time and would not change a thing.
So, instead of answering “What do you do?" I’d like to turn
it around and answer, “Who are you?”…
I am creative
I am compassionate
I am impatient at times
I am unfortunately addicted to starches (I’m partial to the
potato variety)
I am an adoring wife
I am a grateful daughter
I am a child of God
And, I am at peace with where I am right now.
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