Do What You Love and Do It With Gusto

My young friend, Megan, is a runner. She also is a dog-walker, and does both with absolute focus and dedication. I see Megan every day with a dog, or two, or four in tow. She walks miles around our neighborhood taking pride in her job. Everyone knows her and respects her “dog whispering” gift. When the mutts are home again, she runs. A marathon is in her sights and she is training hard.

My friend, Alicia, does triathlons. How she does that, is a mystery to me, but she does, training with intensity and commitment that is awe-inspiring. Alicia doesn’t swim, bike, and run simply for her own fulfillment. She runs for causes, donating the money that is pledged to her to myriad organizations that fund cancer research or support firefighters who are struggling with profession-related diseases or other issues. 

My friend, Tony, is a mail carrier . . . the best ever. His job is not always easy but one would never know that. He’s always smiling, delivering mail to the door if necessary and braving all kinds of weather. He even adores my dogs! He’s so dedicated to doing his job well that he was selected Service Person of the Year awhile back. He deserved it!

Those are three people I know who seem to make play out of work, and it shows in their faces, their smiles, their attitudes. When I was a teacher, I loved the “art” of teaching, though some other aspects of the profession were not so pleasant! Being immersed in a good lesson, however, when students were engaged and interacting was a joy. I’m no longer in that world, though. Instead, I happily am involved in writing. It is sheer “play” for me. I can get lost for hours in the process.

With that in mind, I recall a book my son, Alex, gave me a few years ago. It’s entitled Flow, written by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and is about the ability for one to become so absorbed in a task and concentrate to such a degree that one actually gets lost in the enjoyment of it. I’ve had that experience with writing, with pulling weeds, and even cleaning the house. Has anyone else had that experience? It makes sense that delving into any activity with intention and commitment is the way to go. It helps emotions settle, problems fall away, and all is well. So, don’t work today. Play.