Occupation

Occupation is a funny word. It can be used to describe what somebody does for a profession, it can also be used to describe the state of mind somebody has when they take out the trash. I find little difference between the two examples, personally.

A few weeks ago, I was having a conversation with somebody about the beauty of being occupied; fully immersed in something to the point where you think of nothing else. In my journey, I’ve found a healthy measure of things to find occupation in. Some were healthier than others.

In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, the author writes about the beauty of riding a motorcycle; likening it to a state of meditation, where you can only do one thing in that moment – ride your bike.

There’s a beautiful thing about hanging on to the handlebars and ripping the throttle as you hang on for dear life – leaving all of your worries behind you in a cloud of dust.

A few months ago, I took a ride with Michael Jackson. Sitting on top of a Harley Davidson Fat Boy, I felt like a king as I felt the power of the engine rumble while it screamed out of the back of the chrome pipes like an anthem.

While I’m not a huge believer in doing things to ‘feel like a man’ – I have to admit, I sure as hell felt like one in that moment – while knowing in my head that I am one.

Now that it’s in the rearview mirror, I can make a bit of a confession. I rode that day without a helmet. It wasn’t planned, and I certainly won’t do it again. However, just once….I wanted to know what it felt like to ride at full speed without one, and I did it.

The answer? Terrifying. Ecstatic.

It feels like you’re waltzing on top of the tightrope of your life…and yet, there’s some beautiful peace that comes in that moment where you calmly accept the fact dangling thread of your futilitiy.

When the engine finally shuts off, your mind comes back to itself and you thank God for another ride.

Just like you’ll never see a motorcycle at a therapists office, it’s equally as impossible to find an employer that will pay you to ride your bike for a living. Some moments of occupation were never meant to be monetized.

Some occupations, like music, tend to lend themselves a bit more to monetization. It’s here that you often see the threads of passion and professionalism intertwine; one unwinds, while the other tightens. Like riding a motorcycle, playing an electric guitar can also deliver a moment of exhilaration and danger – because the louder you play, the more likely you are to blog your eardrums out.

Drugs are also a powerful occupation; they take your mind off of the present reality and fully occupy you until they wear off – which is when they beg for an encore.

How we spend our time is one of the most important determinants of how our life will play out. While it may not seem like every choice matters, there’s a hefty consequence that follows for everything we do – or fail to.

Beneath the ways we choose to occupy ourselves is something a little deeper; our purpose. Authors have devoted libraries of books to discovering the P-word in your life. Howevever, discovering a sense of purpose remains an elusive target for many.

For most of my life, I operated out of alignment in both my occupation(s) as well as my internal sense of purpose. The misalignment came from one simple thing; I was chasing goals instead of stopping to look at the vehicle I was working with; in this case, myself.

Why am I here? I asked.

Who am I? I probed deeper.

”You’re a child of God.”

From there, everything else seemed to make sense. Instead of chasing a goal with some number attached to it, I realized that I’m enough, as I am, if I’m obedient His voice.