Merging a life vacation with a vocation

@wwaycorrigan

[For an audio/vlog version of this story, click here.]

'When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.'

'I can do many things, but I don't want to do that.'

It's not exactly the best argument for being a theist, is it? It could be said to promote ignorance, impede inquisitiveness: 'Just believe in God and shut out all the other noise.'

Nonetheless, I can see where the English writer, G.K. Chesterton, to whom the quote is attributed, was coming from. A belief in a god that promotes personal development, humbleness and virtuousness — without being domineering — isn't the worst creed one could follow. Yet, however sound the theory, the practice of it is often found wanting.

And where traditional religions are on the wane, some folk feel the need to fill the void with even more pernicious creeds and systems of control.

A sceptic at heart, I eventually ditched the dogma of the Catholic Church imposed on me from birth, while I've yet to cave in to the postmodernist militia taking over much of the West.

Stem-less

Yet, a version — of sorts — of Chesterton's epigram applies to me.

It goes thus: When men don't focus on one specific career, they then thereafter are capable of doing almost anything yet often end up doing very little.

Such an affliction appears to be quite pronounced for humanities, arts and social sciences (Hass) graduates, as I am: a Social Studies Syndrome, to give it a label.

'One approach is to find a preferred place/country to work in first and then find the means to live there.'

Courses in social studies generally give one a decent introduction to a broad range of subjects. A Bachelor of Arts degree can open many doors. However, therein lies a potential problem. It doesn't give one a clear career path in the way that studies in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (Stem) tend to do.

Those latter disciplines also have a very practical application in everyday life. For example, there's a constant demand for both digital and physical infrastructure to be built and maintained. We're also always looking for ways to improve our health and that of other flora and fauna with whom we share this planet.

To be blunt, Stem subjects are fundamental to progress (they can and do, of course, lead to destruction, too). Social studies are nice extras but are far from essential for our existence. What good is a philosopher or psychologist when we're faced with real problems, actual oblivion?

For sure, there is more to life than just the physical and there are always moral issues at play in our actions. Yet, without clean water to drink, healthy food to eat and a safe environment in which to live we won't be in a position to give such metaphysical matters much thought.

Place dependent

Nonetheless, some of us are predisposed to concerns of a more metaphysical and moral nature. And in a well-run world — or one at least trying to be such — there is space and a need for such types.

The challenge for the social studies student is to find a well-remunerated, fulfilling outlet for his/her talents.

Many may find themselves switching jobs frequently but that in itself isn't a negative. Where loyalty to an employer was seen as a positive in the past, this is less so in today's environment of relatively poorly paid, often soul-destroying gigs.

Some employment opportunities suited to those coming from a humanities background are in the work-from-anywhere category. This can be a bonus, especially for those inclined to wanderlust.

Such a scenario, in theory anyway, allows one to choose a preferred place/country to work in first and then find the means to live there, rather than the reverse. To put it another way, go on a vacation first, then find your vocation, temporary as it may be.

I have done that to a certain degree with Colombia. My problem of late is that I've lost enthusiasm for the main means that I had to make ends meet here — English teaching. And remote working is a concept for which I have little love.

So there are various things that I could do either here in Colombia or elsewhere to earn a living but I'm not prepared — or in a desperate enough position, yet — to do anything.

The challenge now is to find something to believe in; and something that generates an income at that. This blog does accept donations, by the way.
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An act of good

@wwaycorrigan

[For an audio/vlog version of this story, click here.]

In my early adolescence, I was a regular attendee at mass. Oh, how impressionable the young can be!

I bought into it to such an extent that I used to think that I was on a higher plane than those, such as my immediately older brother, who didn't follow the masses, as it were. Or at least I acted as if I was on a higher, untouchable plane.

'I go to church, ergo I'm good.'

My mere appearance at a church service meant I would not only be better looked after by the Almighty but any sins I committed — and I may have committed a few small ones — would be more likely to be pardoned than those of the non-churchgoers.

Act up

More precisely, my brother and others like him were infidels and were thus set for eternal damnation no matter what good acts they might do. I could cause treachery yet salvation would be my lot as long as I repented.

The, um, no-nonsense rules of the Catholic Church put paid to such hopes for perpetual bliss. My mother married a man — my father — who had been previously married, meaning that in the eyes of those making things up at the Holy See all my mother's children — myself included — were (are?!) doomed bastards regardless. Yet even after discovering such a devastating fate, I still played the faithful game for a while longer.

It wasn't until the end of my teens that I followed my brother's lead — mostly of my own accord, albeit — and quietly renounced Catholicism and organised religion in general.

That early big-C Catholic indoctrination — much of it was at odds with small-c catholic, as in it wasn't too liberal in its outlook — isn't easily wiped from one's memory and, by extension, behaviour.

Nonetheless, and allowing for the many contradictions and hypocrisies of Vatican rule, in Christianity there is at least a blueprint to live a morally sound life.

Yes, there's merit to the argument that we don't need religions to set our collective moral compass, that in a state of nature we'd be more inclined to be helpful to others rather than harmful. Much has been written and debated about that. There's no need to add to it in this piece.

'Doing a good act is undermined when it's only done to buy credit to be less good elsewhere.'

The point here is, to return to my mass-going days (in thought, that is, not for real), doing what one considers a good act is generally undermined if it's only done to buy credit to be less good elsewhere.

Linked to this are the types who talk up their one good deed to deflect attention away from their many shortcomings elsewhere. Fair enough, it can be beneficial to focus on the positives. But if it's done to the extent that one neglects the negatives, progress is often hampered.

Good for nothing

This came into my mind, harshly perhaps, when I saw a short video on the BBC's website about the country with the earliest wake-up time in the world. Who got that label? Why none other than my adopted home for the last 12 years, Colombia.

Across the world, getting up early is generally seen as a good habit. Various sayings extol its virtues: 'Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise', 'You snooze, you lose', 'The early bird catches the worm' and suchlike.

Yet, merely getting out of bed early doesn't in itself mean one is better than those who get up later. Colombians aren't exactly the globe's leading lights for efficiency and productivity, are they?

As I've discussed in previous posts, there's a difference between being at work and actually doing work. (I do, though, acknowledge the long hours of poorly paid toil that many in Colombia's lower classes are forced into.)

In all of these acts of good is the idea of much show but little go. Plenty of style but not much substance.

I'm reminded of the song It ain't what you do it's the way that you do it. Those lyrics can be dissected in different ways. A negative one is that style is more important than substance. A more positive perspective is that how you go about your activities trumps what your activities are — the idea of taking an enthusiastic approach to the most mundane of tasks. (Acts of pure evil are excluded here.)

After all, our actions speak louder than our words. And a corollary: When all is said and done, a lot more is said than done.

Words wither. Deeds deliver. With that, this is the word of Wrong Way. Go in peace to love and serve him.
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Listen to The Corrigan Cast podcast here.

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