The Intrinsic Value of Work

Whomever said, "Love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life" never had to worry about making a living doing it! Or about liability insurance, et al. I joke of course, the philosophy of making the most of your life is most noble. My thoughts are scattered today. I've been following and researching a number of trends online and must be suffering from overload. Of late, I've been watching some interviews with Dr. Temple Grandin. And I've been thinking a lot about sustainability at all levels of life. What does it really mean?

My wife and I have discussions about how we'd just like to be comfortable. That means to us not financially independent but having enough to cover our needs and maybe a little extra left over. Unfortunately, that means we have to work - I work in marketing and my wife works taking care of the house and little Chloe. But how to live within the means of what you love? Therein is the rub eh?

I really think the trick is in knowing when to stop. What is the optimal level that we have to produce (job, industry, agriculture) that we have enough? In my communications classes in college I was a huge fan of Chaos Theory. While this topic can be rather large and unwieldy, the basic premise is that life cannot exist in a state of equilibrium. It has to be in a constant state of change. For the beautiful pond - flat as a mirror - to exist in that state, the duck has to land causing ripples - that fade...

I have a good friend from high school that is the poster child for REI. Every once in awhile we get together and have the 'grass is greener' conversation. He is married and they are outdoor enthusiasts and make (at the time) maybe $15,000 a year between the both of them. No kids, no mortgage, no responsibility. How I envied his freewheeling lifestyle. He'd roll into town and talk about kayaking down waterfalls in South America for months! Can you imagine? And all the while he would envy my stability, my state of equilibrium.

Thanks to Chaos Theory, there will always be differences. There will always be small, sustainable, responsible businesses. There will always be large, profitable, strategic corporations. Like the Chinese proverb says, "O man, you who do not live a hundred years, why fret a thousand minutes?"