An Epiphany At Work

I usually take advantage of my 3 breaks at work (two 15-minute ones and my 30-minute lunch break) to read; currently I'm working my way through Gardner Read's comprehensive tome dealing with Music Notation (I'm up to page 400). But tonight for my last break (9 to 9:15 pm) I felt like I needed to get some fresh air, so I took a walk outside. As soon as I stepped outside and saw the stars shining through the tattered shreds of cloud and felt the wind blowing and reinvigorating me, my mind immediately started writing a story. It began as a chronicle of my experience and evolved eventually into the scattered beginnings of another Flannery-O'Connor-type story; but it was refreshingly stimulating to think about, as I let my mind wander where it would. And I realized one of the reasons why I get tired of work and why I would never be able to work there for my career: there's no creativity involved. I sit at a computer, look at data and enter it into the database according to fixed rules devised by our Tech Writers. There's no room for individual input or creativity at all. And, being a composer, creativity is rather important to my mental and intellectual well-being.

Now, I must qualify this by saying that my job does appeal to other aspects of my personality (perfectionism, organization, and the like--my T and J qualities, as opposed to my N ones; although sitting at a computer instead of interacting with people also appeals to my I qualities), and I am greatly, greatly blessed to have this job. (If nothing in that last parenthesis meant anything to you, click here.) It's been a great job to have, especially while still in college, and I hope that God will see fit to provide me with another job at least as good upon my return from the road trip. But as I said, there is nothing in my job that allows me to be creative. Which is why letting my mind work on a random story tonight was so refreshing. And why I will never make a career out of being a HAZARD INSURANCE PROC I at Assurant.