Occupation: Lover

5-25-2010

In my nearly 20 years of life I have had many experiences. I have seen many different places and had opportunities to interact with people from different cultures, mindsets, and upbringings. Everyone goes through life with different motives, with different goals and aims. Some people are working to get enough money to buy a new car or a bigger house while others are working to please their spouse or their kids. Some people are working to survive while others are trying to pursue causes bigger than themselves. Now, I think everyone wants to pursue a good cause. I know many teachers and these are people certainly not motivated by money, but people that I believe truly want to make an impact in the lives of children and young people. Nearly everyone, no matter where they’re from or how they were brought up, lives their life wanting to contribute something to this world. The problem I have is when I look around and see so many people satisfied with their lives.

That may sound strange, because satisfaction is a good thing. It may just be my crazy youth-plague mind, but as I ponder my future the last thing I want is satisfaction. Satisfaction causes stagnation and stagnation causes bacteria and fungi to build up. You never want to drink out of a puddle of water that has been still for months. It is probably a nice green color with fuzzy things floating and bugs swarming around. Many people live their lives, go to work, and develop a routine that they will keep up for years. The only time their lives are interrupted is through some sort of tragedy. Personally, I don’t want my life to have to be shaken up by tragedy. I don’t want to be a nasty puddle of water; I want to be a stream that is constantly flowing, bringing life to the things and people that surround me.

I’m not saying that we should be miserable and unsatisfied all the time. I believe in happiness, and even more so I believe in contentment. Extreme happiness is great, but you’ll notice that when you have a big dose of happiness it fades and then you feel like your life is boring and you become miserable. Happiness has the same effect as cocaine. What we really need is contentment—a strong, bold contentment that rejects satisfaction.

I have been pondering my future—what I want “to be when I grow up” and I have to say that I don’t think I like any of the outcomes. I don’t want to “be” one thing. I don’t want to “be” a pastor, or a doctor, or a teacher. I want to “be” me and “do” all sorts of different things. I read an article about some guy who marked his occupation “lover” because he had no real career. He just did things to help others and love on them. So I think I want to be a lover. I don’t want to be defined by my career. I want to be defined by my character and my faith and then from there follow opportunities that allow me to spread God’s love.