Some people are able to learn quickly. Others apparently require endless repetition.
For example, some people, once laid off from a job, might take that to mean that life is uncertain. Not I! I slid blithely into a part-time contract position (no benefits, no vacation, no security) and stop looking for anything else.
And guess what? My contract ended. With any warning? No. Backup plan? None. Money stashed away? Nope.
I have struggled with this since the beginning, actually: how can you look ahead, when you are panicking at what faces you right now. Well, I assure you there is nothing more immediate to me.
There’s this other thing I’ve been thinking about, too. Even before my dad died, I have been dwelling on death. No, no. Not my own. Really more about how we all are so busy with the mechanics of living that we don’t enjoy life. Then we die. And maybe the lucky few can enjoy the flashback right before the end.
I need to work harder on the flashback details.
Hi Julie:
Sorry to hear about your contract ending.
>how we all are so busy with the mechanics of living that we don’t enjoy life. Then we die
I just finished reading a good book that was about this very topic, among other things: “And Then We Came to an End” by Joshua Ferris. Check it out if you get a chance!
Stay tough…
Jeff
Thanks for dropping in – I’ve been thinking about you and how your plans are unfolding.
I updated my blog after your comment. The very contract that ended (because someone took a full-time job with the company) became a full-time job for me (that person left shortly after).
Putting aside the mechanics, though, still remains so very hard for me. Now I can stop fretting about paying the bills, only to take up fretting about getting projects done on time. I can’t seem to get the knack of living differently.
I will have to check out the book you mention.
Take care!
Julie