Outside of earning a salary for paying bills, putting a roof over your heads and having the ability to buy goods and services, what value does having a job bring outside of those fundamentals? Is it that important to have a place to go to in the morning, where you can share stories by the water cooler, or could it be a burning need to be a part of a larger social dynamic on a daily basis? Maybe having a job somehow validates the worth of your high school diploma, certification or college degree. Whatever your motivation maybe, what is the point of it all? What is the true purpose for having a job, and why I do I feel so desperate at times because I don’t have one.
There is a reason why time machines haven’t been invented yet. A time machine in the wrong hands would totally throw off the time continuum. I have a top ten list of places I would visit folded in my wallet just in case I get my hands on one. Number three on my list would be to find and muzzle the person or persons who decided on a five day work week, and then I would change it to a four day work week. Imagine having a three day weekend every weekend — that would be sweet, if I had a job. Wait a minute, by my not having a job, everyday is a weekend day for me.
One of the hurdles of being a member of the jobless nation, is that it takes a disciplined soul to keep your idle mind in check. It is a daily struggle filled with many highs and lows. Motivation to learn a new skill is burning up inside you one day, and then is totally cold the next. A week of walking or biking on trails, enjoying the simpler things in the life, is quickly replaced by a TV remote in one hand and a bag of Doritos in the other. It takes a lot of discipline to remain grounded and focused. Having a lot of free time on your hands is a lot of hard work which is why having a job is necessary.
Having a job saves us from ourselves. A job occupies that space in which our personal demons would eagerly fill with bad intentions, given the opportunity. Having a job keeps your social skills honest. I will be the first to admit, the longer I am out of the work environment, the more my social skills are declining at a rapid rate. I don’t feel the need to interact with the other animals, and to be quite honest, I am beginning not to miss it. I certainly don’t miss commuting to work, driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic wondering how in the hell did that moron in the gray SUV flip his vehicle over. There is one thing that I am missing while I spend my mornings eating Kashi cereal and watching reruns of Family Guy — I am missing a sense of purpose. I had one this time last year, however as of November 10, 2009 at 4:17 pm eastern standard time, I no longer have one. I am not sure exactly when I lost it. I do know, at this point it’s missing. Like a ship drifting in the sea, rudderless, I have no sense of purpose. In my rudderless world, my orange isn’t as orange anymore, and my Kashi cereal doesn’t thrill me the same anymore. Where is Tyler Durden when I need him? I could use some of his tough love to get me back on the path to finding my sense of purpose.
Does this mean I am doomed to spend the rest of my days on this planet being a non-productive, unmotivated, and uncaring individual? Do I need Jesus, Allah, Jehovah or Buddha in my life as many of my religious buds would suggest? I am truly walking in a hot desert having a deep conversation with Jim Morrison while trying to find that gravel of sand that will help keep me connected with the human race. I have had a front row seat watching my emotional state evolve since the day I joined the jobless nation. I have watched my anger turn to bitterness and my bitterness turn to darkness. Darkness as the void in space, with no atmosphere, no temperature, and no concern for it’s surroundings. I never realized that having a sense of purpose is so important and its effect on the human mind when you don’t have one. As much as I am starting to not miss the daily nuisances of going to work, the painful truth is that I need a job, which is the point of having a job.
