In Pursuit of...Happiness?
I recently read a piece on Bill Waterson (the Calvin & Hobbes cartoonist!), How to Find Your Life's Meaning, that I found really compelling.
It also reminded me of another piece by Cal Newport, Corrupted Callings: The Subtle Difference Between Finding Your Life’s Work and Loving Your Life, which a good friend pointed out lacked any kind of race or class analysis (this critique applies to the Waterson piece, too).
Although Waterson and Newport's ideas are not new, the gravitational pull of the traditional, climb-the-ladder, workaholic culture in this country is still strong. But it does seem like the tide may be turning, with more people turning to freelance work, nontraditional schedules, and other creative ways to work.
As Waterson said:
Creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement. In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own work is usually considered an eccentric, if not a subversive. Ambition is only understood if it’s to rise to the top of some imaginary ladder of success.
These articles definitely give you someone to think about!
