In Another World
For the second time in the last three days, I'm writing my daily piece in an airport in the wee hours of the morning. I've averaged 4 hours of sleep per night for the past three nights, running on the fumes from the fumes. You're supposed to come home from vacation refreshed, right? Well, this time, I'll be coming home far more tired than when I left. All self-inflicted, of course.
I'm hoping to grab a little shut-eye on the flight today, as I am heading to a client site for the week. In another world, this would be a disastrous scenario. In another world, I would be living in utter dread. In another world, I would loathe the week I have coming up.
However, I couldn't be more excited. I have a challenging week ahead, for sure, but I'm looking forward to the good work on my plate. There's something wild that happens when we engineer our lives for work that matters. We don't feel the need to escape it, and even when we're running on fumes, we oddly still look forward to it.
Even as I re-read my words above, it sounds weird, even kooky. I understand that most people don't feel this way. I've been most people. I only recognize the absurdity in my current perspective because I've lived in the other world. I've returned home from vacation, desperately needing a vacation from my vacation. I've had the dread creep into my soul, reminding me of the misery I'll possibly endure.
This isn't the difference between fun work and not-fun work. Fun is fleeting. The distinguishing line between these two worlds is finding meaning in our work.....or not. Nothing is emptier than going to work and feeling nothing; or worse, feeling nothing good and everything bad.
I'm grateful for the weekend Sarah and I just spent together, but I'm equally excited to get back to work. It's a cool reality. If you live in a similar reality, I applaud you! If you don't, I want you to know that reality DOES exist. It's out there, waiting for you.
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