Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Where You Headed?

I had a boss once who, upon observing my ladder climbing tendencies, observed: Be careful what you are climbing to. You'll wake up one day and be just like me. I don't think she was wholly unhappy with her life but undoubtedly she had found herself in a situation where work consumed more of its share of space in how time got divvied up. I really thought I had fallen out of that mind set when just two days ago, I went into a small flurry over a rumor that someone with less experience (a lot less experience) might be promoted. Not even necessarily over me but clearly ahead of me. What track was I on?

Thankfully Jacob quickly talked me down from the ledge. We have enough, he said. Why would you want to work more for not much more pay? Besides he said, we would miss you.

What are we trying to buy in this world if not more quality time? I read Your Money or Your Life recently and it really illustrated this point. If you think of your time as your life energy, what are you spending it on? What would you rather be spending it on?

I think that is part of what Jacob and I are trying to accomplish with this trip. Not just a sabbatical from the on-going grind of work life but a time out from ALL life to clear our minds and maybe take enough of a step back to afford ourselves some breathing room to reassess how far we've come and where we want to go. I realize to put such a lofty goal on a six month trip might seem optimistic at best but if nothing else, we're putting our money where our mouths are: we want more quality time.

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