There was no denying it – the bathtub drain was running slower and slower. We were headed for a full-out clog. It was time to call the plumber.
The bell rang. I opened the door to see Sean, a plumber who does good work and has been to our home many times over the years. Sean’s a good guy, however, he’s not the happiest person and I recognized his kind of “down in the mouth” look.
“Hey, Sean,” I said, “thanks for coming. How’re you doing?”
He looked at me with a wry expression and said, “Living the dream, Janet, living the dream…”
I don’t think he really meant it…
Now, I can appreciate that having a job that involves clearing out people’s clogged plumbing – bathtubs, toilets, kitchen sinks – is NOT exactly a dream life. I know I certainly wouldn’t have the stomach to do what Sean does.
I can also appreciate that doing this job day after day, year after year, is wearing on the spirit.
I do, however, hope that Sean finds some satisfaction in doing what he does – because he brings such a valuable service to those of us who need plumbing help and haven’t the skill to do it ourselves. I am enormously grateful to him and to the other workpeople who have kept our plumbing running smoothly.
Some of us might be “living the dream” in our work, but, like Sean, many of us might NOT be. Hopefully, if our work is not our “dream,” there is still satisfaction to be found from some aspect of our work or somewhere in our lives.
I believe SATISFACTION is vital to living fully, to knowing contentment and happiness.
If our job doesn’t bring us that, perhaps something else in life does – like being a good friend or a helpful daughter to an aging parent, being that person who writes encouraging emails to someone who’s having a rough time, being the one who lets the driver in front of you off the hook for having cut you off.
There are any number of ways, on different levels, of contributing to the goodness on the planet.
There are any number of ways of being present and finding meaning.
The poet Mary Oliver has some thoughts on this theme in one of her most oft-quoted poems: “The Summer Day.” [Read the poem here: https://poets.org/poem/summer-day
The poem ends “…what is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life?”
Mary Oliver asks what your plan is – which implies doing something in the future…
May I suggest we also consider that query in the present tense –”What AM I doing, who am I being? – in this moment, now! With my one wild and precious life?”
This suggests thoughtful questions to consider in any for moment:
Am I here? Am I present?
Present to the grasshopper, to the laughter, to my heart?
“Living the dream” is available in each moment, if we are paying attention.
As I walked my plumber Sean to the front door, thanking him for his work, he – uncharacteristically – took his phone out of his pocket and pulled up some pictures. Though we’d interacted many times over the years sharing something personal with me was a first for Sean.
“This is my happy place,” he said, and showed me photos of where he’d spent the weekend up in New Hampshire. Images of the sunset on the lake, of the moon rising over the water appeared. They were beautiful, soulful photos.
Sean does have spirit and beauty in his life – outside of his job.
Let’s make sure we are all noticing where we’re “living the dream…” where spirit, meaning, satisfaction, beauty, wonder – the list goes on – where these qualities are present in our own precious lives.