Greetings from Luang Prabang in Laos. I am on the final leg of my relaxation trip and it has been lovely.
I have caught up on my sleep and the dark eye circles are disappearing. My hotel is the former residence of the Laos Royal family. Although it is not palatial by any means it does have an air of opulence and has the best service I have encountered.
I was met upon arrival by Serge, the bright green eyed Swiss hotel manager. Small in stature (definitely no taller than 5' 4"), we conversed for a while and he welcomed me as he would a guest in his home. He had also left a hand-written welcome card on my bed. Now that's what I call a touch of personal service!
Luang Prabang is a Unesco World Heritage city. It is filled with greenery, tranquility and smiling faces. The authenticity of most people is refreshing. Overall it has been just what I needed to get back on track.
Today my thoughts have reverted back to a topic that repeatedly comes to mind recently. I am really feeling the need to live life with more meaning. My life has become routine, boring, and mundane. Work, home, work home, home work, home - so dull!
This trip has re-enforced for me that the road I am traveling (in my working life) is really a means to an end as opposed to having any meaning for me.
One of the biggest parts of the life we live is the job we do every day. As my return to work draws near, I wish I felt more enthusiastic. Yes many have succumbed to the sentiment of being unenthused about their jobs, but do we really have to feel this way?
If truth be told I am so scared to lose the financial standing that I have become accustomed to. Consequently I have chosen to stay stuck in this routine (in various guises) for over a decade. As I grow older though, I have come to the stage that I am asking myself is it really worth it if it often makes me so unfulfilled.
The thing is, too often we realise that life has passed us by and we have not done half of what we dreamed of doing. Not because we couldn't, but because we just didn't. I know one thing for sure. I certainly will not be on my death bed thinking, thank God I worked inthe corporate world for decades and felt unfulfilled. I will however regret not taking measures to live a fulfilling life, do a fulfilling job and be the best I can be.
For me, going to work daily, and providing solutions for shareholders sometimes leaves me with a gaping hole, even though I am grateful that it has furnished me with material blessings. I also come away at times with a sentiment of 'whatever'. I went to work today 'whatever'. I managed to engage a few people to have a discussion, to conclude an issue 'whatever'. Yes, my daily efforts mean that systems and processes are improved for teams of people, really? 'Whatever'. For some of my colleagues it is so fulfilling, for me, sometimes it is just - 'whatever'!
Don't we need our sentiments towards what we do to pay the bills to be more meaningful to us? Why not embark on a plan to 'make a living meaningfully'. Yes meaningful is relative and what has a depth of meaning for me maybe irrelevant to you but that's the great thing about us as individuals. Seek what is meaningful to you and go live it, work it, be it, do it all with meaning!
It is within our power, and our duty to ourselves to not just work for a living but to live a life that counts for something. With only one life to live, why not live it, really live it. Alternatively we can continue to live a 'whatever?' life...I know what I am going for, what about you?
Blessings...
