The Post Modern Conundrum

For a long time we have gone along satisfied that our definition of being was derived from the description of our employment. "I am a computer programmer" was a sufficient statement to describe what I did, what my pursuits were, and indeed, who I was as a person. While this may seem like a shallow assessment, albeit an accurate one, it provided a sense of security and a sense of personal well-being to many. Our descriptions of ourselves defined our passions as well. I started working with computers because the fascinated me, and the more I learned, the more fascinated I became. It was easy for me to trace my computated inclinations to an early age when I studied music and came to the somber realization that while I enjoyed playing the piano, I had no natural "feel" for it. I summarized therefore, that I was a technician instead of a musician. This led to other such summarizations which I feel we all make from time to time. I am a cook, not a chef; and I am a "shade-tree" as opposed to a "certified" mechanic.

Along comes the post modern era and things change. After a rather lengthy (to me) stint of unemployment, I had to search for what I was exactly. Since I was not inclined to describe myself as an "unemployed" whatever, it behooved myself to define myself in some other terms. Who was I exactly as a man, as a human being, as a member of society? And what did I bring to the table if not the skills of my job? This type of soul searching went on for some time until I came to the realization that I was a child of the King and did not need any other moniker to tell the world who I was. Here presents the conundrum: If I am not defined by my job - it my job does not dictate my passions, how do I maintain the enthusiasm necessary to be successful in my job - to excel and advance, which is the natural proclivity of all mankind? When my passions are not in my employment, then I find my mind easily sidetracked to other passions. Of late I have become infatuated with medieval times and having developed a desire to work with metals. This would require a forge and some raw material, but would be easy enough to do. Given this fascination, I find more and more of my otherwise "free" time devoted to these pursuits instead of to increasing my technical competence.

So how do we live in post modern times, and how do we balance the passions of our hearts against the needs of our jobs - when they no longer coincide?

Oh, the picture was taken yesterday at 5:00 p.m. outside my office. It was about 11 degrees at the time and breathtakingly beautiful!