Someone actually said that to me this morning as we walked into work. Granted, this woman looked at though she was walking in the Bataan Death March which prompted me to comment that she didn't look to thrilled to be coming to work. That, of course, prompted her response about Thursday.
I then said, in my typical cheery fashion that makes everyone think I'm a cynic or just plain angry, that I think it is pretty pathetic when the best thing we can say about our lives is, "At least it's Thursday!" God, what a horrible pronouncement that is. Half of my life is likely over, like many of the people I see downtown every day, and the best we can muster is some faint optimism that it's Thursday. This is how bad our lives really are.
As anyone knows who reads this blog regularly, I've been thinking a lot about career, life goals, passions, etc. I don't know that all this thinking will amount to much. Like most people I'm probably too (pick your adjective) lazy/lethargic/scared/confused/stupid to really DO anything. But I'll be damned if I'm going to resort to celebrating Thursdays. Or "hump day." Or saying "TGIF!" What are most people looking forward to on the weekends? Sitting around on their fat asses watching TV, yelling at their out of control kids, getting aggravated at a spouse they no longer love, and getting fatter. Yeah, I know that some people have nice families and nice weekends and they're productive, etc. Heck, I love working out in my yard and I look forward to the weekend to do that.
Still, I suspect the reason we really look forward to the weekend is because most of us just can't stand our jobs. We won't do anything about it, mind you. We'll just continue to gripe, put in a half-baked effort, and cash the check. But we live lives of quiet desperation. Every once in a while someone snaps and there's a mass muder or something. While I don't condone that, somehow it doesn't make any less sense to me than the million little deaths that occur every day inside of people. Unfortunately, Thursday doesn't do anything to change that.
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4 comments:
I like Thursday. I like the way it's spelled. THURsday. It sounds nice. I like Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday for much the same reason.
But you are right: most people are restless, irritable and discontent without really being able to examine why. And an unexamined life is really not much to write home about.
As a recovering alcoholic, I hit that bottom many years ago, and am one of the lucky ones who really does live life to the fullest. Having been in that personal hell, I get to live differently today.
But I do hate my boss - not my job per-se, just the guy I work for. And I've been trying to do something about it, but the economy is hampering everything. Still, I'm putting it out there. I make the effort.
I have tried to better my employment situation, where I am grossly underpaid and have no path to advancement -- but I've gotten no bites on my line when I've sought out different ones. Most likely it's my age, it is definitely a factor out there in the job world, although it isn't supposed to be.
Also, I really need my benefits, esp. health care, and changing employers could take that away as I could be considered to have pre-existing conditions with a new provider.
A raise is not happening either. That's been pursued through several channels. I started my own business too, which brought a whole set of different problems that I wasn't able to deal with. So here I sit... being glad it's Thursday.
Diva & Blue - There's no doubt that doing anything to significantly change one's career, particularly later in life is tough. That's one reason I stay where I'm at. I'm making a salary that is decent and, while I'm ashamed to admit it, that's a big part of what keeps me where I am. The reason I say I'm ashamed is because I think that ideally the money shouldn't matter so much. As long as I make enough to pay put a roof over my head, have food, and take care of my health, I should really be more concerned about doing something I enjoy. And, as Blueberry points out, it won't get any easier to switch as I get older.
It's just funny because sometimes I really wake up and wonder how I got here. I'm sure that where I'm at is a result of the series of decisions I've made in my life but often it doesn't feel like I really chose this (or I choose not to remember choosing it) Life can be quite strange at times.
From the same show that gave us, for better or worse, the song, "Send in the Clowns," came a lesser known ballad, "Every Day A Little Death." It's a very poignant but very direct tribute to the very same phenomenon of how people subdue their true passion and submit instead to settling for what's expected or what's easy. While it doesn't seem that any of the folks commenting here fit that mold -- we may not have achieved what we think we should but it may not be for lack of trying -- there are many, many people who are satisfied just getting by, or, who know that they are doing exactly that and dying a little every day.
We also don't give ourselves much time to dream, or much quiet time to think or listen to that inner voice. It seems that there is always something to do, music to listen to, chores to be accomplished, books to read. Last week I took a book to a lake in a nearby metropark and just sat. I read a little, but I also just sat and watched the clouds and the water rippling in the wind. If we don't take time just to be still, answers to our quests and queries don't have a chance to surface. Still is the new active.
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