Rodent Regatta

In an entry titled Finding Meaning, Rachel Lucas lets us in on some thoughts she’s been having. You can’t imagine how many people I talk to who share this same quandry. Here’s an excerpt, but read her entire entry:

And so in between feverish bouts of work and homework over the last few days, I’ve been doing two things: Reading a book about WWII and thinking about my life and what I want to do with it. I’ve realized that ranting about politicians and celebrities isn’t it. Worrying about the number of visitors and links I can garner isn’t it. Debating liberals about the tax code, guns, and Dubya’s intelligence in my comments section isn’t it.

Back on May 8, 2002, when this weblog was in a different form, I wrote something called The Meaning of Life. It was a response to a question, but it was also a reexamination of another question that bothers everyone.

What will I do with my life that brings fulfillment? Lately, I’ve pondered the old addage about ”do something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” What happens to a person when the ability to identify ”something they love to do” is lost? By what method can one discover a passion in life?

What thing or things do you do that you love so much that you can’t possibly imagine being paid to do it? How do you find that thing?

Time and bills and responsibilities and life have a tendency to kick the dreams out of a person. When it comes to a career this can be devastating. Nothing is worse than merely going through the motions, yet it can be quite tough to identify and strike out in a new direction. Many, many people are wrestling with that very dilemma these days. Don’t you wish there were an easy formula for finding your passion?

Here’s the way Rachel is responding, having identified her own passion:

But my focus has shifted and I know in my bones that it’s time for me to do what I’ve wanted to do almost my whole life. It might not change the world, but hopefully, I can accomplish something worthwhile. If you’d like to help in any way, let me know. Advice, suggestions, donations, and references to books I should read are all encouraged. If you yourself are a WWII veteran or were an adult civilian at that time, please write.

I encourage you to read the comments Rachel has received.

For the ”rest of us,” I intend to work on getting some answers during December, 2002. First, how to find something you truly love to do and, second, how to launch yourself down that path.