A Simple Life

Last evening someone asked me a question I haven't quite been able to come up with an answer to: what is your dream job? This question was asked in the context of my current search for employment as things with my last job didn't seem to work out too well, and I'm hoping to have something else soon.

To be perfectly honest, I think I'd have to create a job in order for it to be my dream job. Right now, here is what my dream job description would look like:

1. A relaxed, positive environment in a low-stress situation. This, because it would promote my first priority of healing.
2. A challenge. Something I'm not used to. This, so that I can grow to be stronger.
3. An assignment which can be done in a variety of locations. This, so that I can work outside, inside, at home, or in an office.
4. A low-hours, high-pay job. This, because I'm still an idealist and haven't learned their isn't such a thing. :)
5. A position in which I can feel useful and beneficial to humanity. This, because I love people, and I do love work as well.
6. A supervisor who loves creativity and encourages it. This, so I can express myself daily rather than conform to a mold of professionalism.

My needs are really quite simple. At this point, my expenses are minimal. My view of life has also changed. I used to work, work, work so hard all day, every day. Now, most of my work is quite sedentary, sitting at my workstation in my room, typing away at my computer. But I have grown to love my new, slower-paced life. 

A simple life. A simple job. Simple joys. Simple happiness. That's now what I want from life, in a way I never did before. 

Fact is, I still need lots of down-time to rest after a big day full of activities. I need a morning here and there to just relax, unwind, and breathe deeply. Whether its a winter's morning with a mug of tea in my hand and a novel in my lap, or a spring afternoon spent sitting in the sun at the peninsula, my body has come to crave and enjoy these periods of rest. 

I want to be able to work at a job that can easily become invisible, blending quietly into the background of my life rather than dominating it. I want a job that accommodates my lifestyle of simplicity. It has become important to me. And I don't want to give it up. 

This isn't laziness. It's really the world the way it should be.

You see, I firmly believe that people should taste their food. They should savor every mouthful, distinguishing between the cool, crisp tastes of veggies, the sweet tang of dressing, and the warm neutral flavor of grilled chicken. I firmly believe that breathing deeply is the most overlooked, underrated form of anti-depressants and stress-relieving medication. I firmly believe that the simple act of writing your thoughts in a journal or in a personal letter allow for free expression of emotions which we so often forget to acknowledge. I firmly believe in singing, laughing, dancing, walking, running, splashing, and all the exuberance appropriate to accompany those things. I believe, simply, in living... and in living simply. 

And so, my profound advice to the world? Slow down. 

I found this hard to begin with during my illness. What? Slow down? But the world rests on my shoulders! If I say "no" to this or that, what will happen to this program or that group?

Trust me; it will keep going. 

But if you don't stop, you might not be able to. 

Rest. 

Come home, come home, and rest awhile. 

Simply living, breathing, and being,

Nella Camille