“So, are you sure you want to be an Anthropologist?”, was asked of me today in half-jest. I didnt answer. Instead I completely unnaturally shifted the conversation to my lab work and pointed to the lab book and began talking while I looked at it admiringly. And I was not making eye contact with the person who asked me that question on purpose.
What I realized in that flash of a moment is that it is sometimes easier to have a little project to worry about—its mini triumphs, its minute falls and complexities and most of all its soothing monotony and detachment from the world—than it is to always think big.
One of the difficulties of my working life, and of my life, has been that I am always looking for the big picture in what I do, from being a restaurant hostess, to a graphic designer, to a laboratory technician. What does it all mean? How am I changing the world? How is the world changing me? The answers are hardly ever satisfactory.
As I pointed to the graph paper pages in the book and to my neat handwriting on them, the feeling flowered inside of me that, on a rainy April afternoon, its sometimes nice just to look at the little picture.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
"How am I changing the world? How is the world changing me?"
ReplyDeleteThe problem with looking at the big picture is that it can be overwhelming and seem unattainable.
The only way to truly change the world is by focusing on your own personal sphere of influence - one person at a time. Maybe it's not about finding the perfect career or the right group of friends (like your post about the one year college).
I think it's how you treat the people around you and whether you build them up or tear them down. I believe in the idea of good karma. What you give to the world will come back to you. The people changing the world are those that put others first on daily basis.