Kauai Update, Part 4D - What I Learned

Dear Friends and Family,

Busy day today. But, want to take the time this morning to reflect on some thoughts from one of my favorite books... There are books I read once and donate and there are books I can read over and over again. Age of Innocence (ISBN: 0375753206) is one of those books I can read over and over again. The movie doesn't do it justice. The rich language just gets lost in the movie... Unlike, Lord of the Rings, Jackson did a phenomenal job carrying Tolkein's language into film.

Back to Age of Innocence. It centers around a character, Newland, and two women. There's a passage from the end, that always makes me think...

"His days were full, and they were filled decently. He supposed it was all a man ought to ask. Something he knew he had missed: the flower of life. But he thought of it now as a thing so unattainable and improbable that to have repined would have been like despairing because one had not drawn the first prize in a lottery. There were a hundred million tickets in his lottery and only one prize; the chances had been too decidedly against him... Their long years together had shown him that it did not matter if marriage was a dull duty, as long as it kept the dignity of duty: lapsing from that, it became a mere battle of ugly appetites."

Okay. My lesson? It's not about Mr. mouse. It's about work.

There was a corporate session I attended back in school for Exxon. And, asking about the assignment people enjoyed most - they all came up with the same story. There was this assignment, I didn't want to take it, surprisingly it turned out to be the best assignment in my life because... My thoughts? Great. But, for those people where it didn't turn out to be the best assignment, they're probably not here to tell their story. They might have left the company. They might not be recruiting. All I could take away is that Exxon sent its people on assignments they don't want. Thanks, but no thanks.

Well, yesterday (reinforcement from vacation), we heard a ton of inspirational speakers talk about the success of women in the work environment. But, you don't hear about the people who didn't win Newland's "lottery". These are executives who against the odds made it work. Great, but maybe I won't be as lucky. I didn't say as good. I said as lucky.

Back to the quote. Putting the job/career lens on it. Maybe, maybe, I'll miss the "flower of life" with regards to work. Maybe it won't be the center of my life. Maybe, it'll in the end be a dull duty I do with human dignity. And, maybe that's okay. Maybe that's what's allocated to me in this life and I need to learn what lessons I can from it. I'm okay with that.

So, I am looking forward tomorrow. But, with open eyes. I hope it's a place I can excel and challenge myself and learn and grow. But, if it's not the be-all end-all. That's okay, too.

Wish me luck!


Cheers!
mouse