Where are you going?

[sobrique]

The other day, I was trying to figure out why it is I like my job. For those that don't know, I'm a sysadmin. I spend my days getting paid to do 'stuff with computers'.
It's good fun.

Thing is though, whilst a job is a way to earn money, there are many ways of doing that. From what I've heard though, the ones where you 'just earn money' are horrible.

Earning money is the side aim. The real thing about a job is that it's fulfilling. It's away of proving yourself.

I think the problem is one of religion. Sounds silly to compare the two, I know, but bear with me. In life, it's important to have faith in what might be. Call it optimism if you will. Certainly in the case of Christianty (which was how I was brought up) and i'd imagine in most of the others. There is the concept of 'if you live this way, you're a good and valuable person'. It's a positive affirmation that there is some purpose to your life.

Thing is though, if you consider yourself not especially religious, then you have a hole. At the end of the day, Time is the ultimate destroyer and all you are, and all you ever will be will turn to dust. This is why it's important to believe.

It's important to believe that you exist for a purpose. That you're doing something worthwhile. It doesn't have to be a career, I'd imagine being a parent, an artist or something similar would also fulfill the same need.

I think everyone needs to believe in something. I'm not urging you to take up religion, I'm urging you to believe in yourself. Everyone makes mistakes. No one is ever perfect. But _everyone_ has some value in the world. They've just got to live up to it.

So I want you to stop and think for a moment. How do you measure your 'value'. Your 'success' at the game of life? And is that _really_ the measure you want to be using?
Society today emphasises money as the ultimate goal. It's something of a tragedy, because money is essentially meaningless. It's not a goal, it's a tool for achieving it.

Think of your measure. If you really want, you can change it every day. Variety itself may be a your goal. But pick our your final destination. You may never get there, but as they say, it's not the winning, but the taking part that counts.

And when you've chosen which end path you want to take, then consider what is important to see and do on the way.

I can't tell you which path to take. That's your own decision. And that's the important thing. Following a road set down by someone else can be constraining and difficult. So you've got to pick your path.

Where are you going?


Oh and in other news, today, I believe, is lostdreamer666's birthday. That was kept quiet.
But yes, on this day, Kev is officially older.
I figure we need to go to the pub tomorrow for this very reason.

Incidentally, on a completely unrelated note, I have had my boots resoled. It's rather wierd being a half inch taller. And did you know that boot polish was flamable? It's rather neat. Set fire to the polish, drop the lid on it, and dribble the wax over the boot, and rub in with a cloth. Marvelous.

Oh and a question for you:
[Poll #257747]