Career vs Vocation
by Work at a job to earn or for quality of life.
As a child I was always counseled by parents and teachers to study hard, work diligently and get good grades. The earliest memories I have are of my kindergarten teacher telling us the fable of the ant and the cricket and repeatedly hammering it into us kids that we had to work hard so that we could enjoy after we got ourselves good jobs. Of course it goes without saying the “good jobs” were well paying jobs and all of us had to aim for those. No one ever asked us what we actually wanted to do. It was all about work hard, study, then get a job and make money.
All I wanted to do was read novels and write them – but creative writing is not something that is encouraged. It does not ensure a five figure salary. I was brainwashed all through school to become a doctor and even pushed into taking science in high school. I know many people who sing well, are wonderful painters or the most awesome cooks but were not allowed to pursue these talents as a vocation. This has resulted in a work force that is full of mediocre workers stifled in their nine-to-five jobs, while their true purpose, their true vocation is forgotten.
A true vocation is something that is sheer joy to work at. It liberates, it sets the soul on fire. It is a pleasure to watch a person who is motivated by his own self. It is a rare and absolutely uplifting sight. I once had the pleasure of watching a few young people singing and playing the guitar on a hillside. The pure joy in their faces and in the music they made – it was wonderful.
This brings me to the crux of the matter – Is it important to make money or is it important to follow your dream? I wanted to write so I wiggled out of the career in medicine that my parents hoped I would pursue. It is another matter that many years passed before I could seriously take up writing. I truly believe that it is important to follow your dream – unless of course your dream is to rule the world or harm other people or damage the ecology. In me, I think the world lost a mediocre doctor who’s heart would not be in healing – so it was no great loss. It would have just been a career – not a vocation.
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Post Commentkamla
On December 23, 2008 at 4:40 am
Hye,
i really liked what you wrote. Am also am a parent and wanted inwards that my children do this or that. As children we had our dreams which never got fulfilled so it is this that parents in fact try to fulfill through their children. the whole thing is our education system, we are not given the chance to try to develop our potential. we are being taught only how to get name and fame. there is nothing wrong in getting lots of money but at what cost, we are going to leave all here.
WE are not living our life, we are just carbon copies of other individuals. I congratulate you at least you have been able to do what you wanted.
Ashvina
On December 23, 2008 at 8:23 am
More and more people these days are summoning the nerve to turn their backs on boring 9 to 5 jobs in order to follow their dreams…more power to them!
Manpreet
On December 23, 2008 at 10:40 am
Loved your take on ‘the world has lost a mediocre doctor’ and I trust that it has gained a wonderful writer who will surely go places. She has her wings, she has her heart in place, and she will launch herself in a big way.
We wish her all the luck for she deserves it.
A Wallbank
On January 19, 2009 at 1:09 pm
You do things better when they are what you want to do, no doubt about it.
And yet “dreams” and “good careers” do tend to be mutually exclusive in the minds of teachers!
The point: I agree wholeheartedly with what you have written in the above and that nobody should ever let anybody else stop them from doing what they love… with the usual restrictions you lay out above!
Very well written article, a pleasure to read.