Qualities of a great career

I think about this for a few reasons. First, my career is a bit of a fortunate accident. Right place, right time, right fit, hard work. Two, in the context of advice for J. Chances are his workplace options will look very different than anything I can comprehend so I try not to spend too much time worrying about it and think, instead, its best that he is a kind person who pursues his interests and is guided by values and morality. Three, Linked In is full of so much bad advice. It boggles my mind that a site dedicated to professionalism can be so very much misguided. With that, I did screen shot this bit of wisdom. So I'm tacking it on to my little internet bulleting board here at NTL. The 4 Qualities of a Great Career: 1) I enjoy it 2) I'm good at it 3) I make good money * 4) I'm around fascinating people Answer in reverse order: 1) Where are fascinating people? 2) In what ways can I make money with them? 3) Which ones am I good at? 4) Which ones do I enjoy? *I'd add to Point #3 - everyone has a threshold of money that they consider enough. For some, it is multiple homes, for some it is freedom, and so on. There's nothing wrong with any point on the spectrum, as long as you are aligned and providing for your family. As Cheryl Strayed says, "pay your rent and your electric bill."

Creative Chaos Emporium

Google/blogger isn't letting me post photos so I guess we'll be words only for a bit. I found myself in Creative Chaos Emporium in Wakefield yesterday. Such a fun shop. It calls itself a thrift shop for arts and crafts supplies - hello, my heart! I find myself constantly circling around the idea of creativity / faith / community / connection / rest this summer. Accepting that this is a season of exploration... simply, that.

Augustine

Augustinian spirituality has always been what formed my religious understanding. A child of an Augustinian parish, a student at an Augustinian University and a parent in an Augustinian elementary school, it seemed only fitting that I understand the man a bit more. This summer, I am moving through Saint Augustine of Hippo - Selections from Confessions and other essential writings. It is excellent. The historical context courtesy of the translator, Joseph T. Kelley, PhD really helps frame the pieces. The annotations help me when something is harder to understand. However, a surprise, to me, is that its quite digestable AND relevent. The relevance between today and writing from the 300's - early 400's, tells us what we need to know. How little people actually change! Here are a few lines I highlighted: "What, at the present moment, are the evils of humanity? Error and weakness. Either you don't know what to do and you go wrong, you fall into error, or else you know what should be done, and you are overpowered by weakness. So every human evil is error and weakness." Sermon 182:6 As innotated: Ignorance (we do not know what is the right and good thing to do); and weakness (we find no joy or delight in doing what is right and good). As Augustine explains, God's grace operates in us in two ways: enlightening our minds in knowing the good, and delighting our hearts in doing it.