Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Love, Life & The Beatles

It seems to me that most of what I've learned about life could have been learned from listening The Beatles.
For example, the two principle lessons learned this year:

1. All you need is love: After all the months of self-induced turmoil, wishing I could follow my heart and pursue my dreams, I did. But despite initial aspirations for that passionate change to be tied to my career, I was compelled to move to San Diego for {love} of a boy, not a job.

There is a lot of criticism for anyone, but especially for girls, who step back from their careers and follow their heart. Society, for whatever reason, regards most highly those that neglect their personal lives in order to dig their heels in the corporate realm. Those that forgo individual success in order to pursue love are often dismissed as flighty and frivolous. When initially debating on whether or not to move for Jeff, I worried that I'd get locked into that category and lose credibility in my career. Surely, there will still be many that frown upon my decision. However, I'm confident that I will one day achieve that role where salary and passion align in absolute synergy, and the best part will be having someone to share my happiness with.

2. From Beautiful Boy-

{{ "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" }}

I have been a habitual planner my entire life. For whatever reason, I find such therapy in creating task lists to map out a basic agenda for the day (as menial as daily household chores and eating meals!) While the skill comes in handy when scoping out the logistics for events and cramped vacation schedules, I've had to step back and refrain from indulging too deeply in this habit. Despite my planning, I fell in love, and consequently fell off course. I didn't plan for this; it just... happened.

Life is a lot like surfing. (I can't surf, but I live by the beach now, so I feel it apt to relate the two.) You can be the most talented surfer, but unless you know how to wait for the right wave, you'll always catch yourself paddling through the best opportunities rather than riding them. As I continue to move through life, refining my skills and practicing as much as I can, I have to remember to be patient: I can't predict when I'll nail that perfect job opportunity any better than I can predict when I'll catch that perfect wave. But sometimes while we sit out there in the ocean, the tide pulls along in different directions, landing us further along the shore than we had planned, yet somehow right where we belong.

1 comment:

rustye said...

"All you need is love...da da dada da..."