Soaking in my think tank (I.e, hot bath) today I wondered about what I’d rather be doing these days than what I’m actually doing”¦ and why aren’t I? First, what would I rather be doing? Well, spending more time gardening, cooking, and playing music came to mind immediately. Instead, I spend time developing our family business, translating the Tao Te Ching, writing this stuff, etc. What gives?

Well, I can’t help doing what needs doing over what might be more fun to do. Duty before pleasure rules my life these days. It hasn’t always been that way however. Gradually I found that ‘doing what I liked’ brought me less happiness than ‘liking what I do’. So, why not ‘like what I do’ in the ‘doing of what I like’?

Well, that is possible”¦ for about an hour or two. Then balance increasingly begins to suffer (*). On the other hand, having my sole desire (or as much as I can muster) being the performance of my duty constantly prods me to approach life with a ‘like what I’m doing’ attitude, although probably to a fault. To be honest, I suppose I’d like to be doing it all, but with only 24 hours in a day what’s a person to do? Such is life.

(*) Why would pursuing what we want to do pose any balance problems? Pleasure and pain are the natural neurological mechanisms that helps all animals survive. Yes, animals in the wild. One of the main thrusts of civilization has been to shield us from the wild side of nature and make life as comfortable and secure as possible. The loss of nature’s wild and uncomfortable side makes it incredibly easy now to fall off balance.