Is this all there is to life, REALLY ?

Hello again

Apologies for being away from my "blogging desk' for a while !

Anyway, I met up with an old college friend last week after a long (too long ?) time. Apart from a concern about whether we would even recognise each other, there was the obvious question, "Are we still the same people ?" 

Well in a sense is anybody really the same person after fifteen or twenty years, it's somewhat unlikely I think ?
Most people will have changed over such a period perhaps having married, had kids, paying a mortgage,
holding down a job all the usual "habits'' of most people's lives.


Now my friend ( I won't name him for fear of embarrassing him ) seems to have the perfect life if such a thing exits ? He and his partner have not had kids preferring to adopt an "alternative lifestyle" and go travelling on a regular basis instead. Most recently they have been to South East Asia and saw amongst other things an active volcano and many different animal species including I believe what are called "monitor lizards."
I couldn't help feeling a little bit envious as he explained that he had also gone for a week's sailing in Greece recently as well !

So we got to talking about our lives and remembering old college friends, in particular two who had "done well for themselves" becoming partners in law and accountancy firms respectively. We then discussed a possible Christmas reunion with other old college mates as well. One of the guys who is a "partner" had previously emailed to say that he felt unable to met up for more than a couple of hours at Christmas due to family and work commitments. My reunion friend also speculated about our other "partner" friend being quite weary in his job and that things were not quite as he had first envisaged when he had entered the profession.

So what is my point in telling you all this ? Well I am delighted when people do well in their careers and achieve a "status", a place of recognition and attainment. But, and it is a big but, does that make people necessarily happy and fulfilled ? Indeed does any position in life make us happy. ? Yes it's great to have a good job or career but one has to be sure that one is operating "on purpose". Now I really don't know whether my boat sailing friend is operating on purpose or whether our "partner friends" have found their true purpose in their lives ? Only they can answer that.

For me it's always intriguing when I hear of people who have given lucrative careers up and gone off and done something more "worthwhile" instead, say working with handicapped children or some other charitable venture. I genuinely think people reach a stage in their life where they begin to question all their earlier assumptions and expectations and I don't think that is always a bad thing. It is then a question if they find they are burdened by their current experience as to whether they have the courage to make a change or whether they are locked in to their current reality say by responsibilities of one kind or another !

So my question to you today is which are you ? The free and easy world traveller or the stressed out executive ? Always remember whatever society tells you you DO have a choice and that is to follow your purpose in life assuming you know what it is ? Freedom comes from knowing who you are and what you are here to do with your life. I wish you well with your choice !

God Bless!

Oliver