In an attempt to abandon politics as a form of distraction/entertainment, I’ve been trying my best to avoid all things news-related.  Yet like any addiction, this has proven to be difficult, as I still find myself tuning into the occasional MPR broadcast and dare I say, the occasional conservative talk radio show- just to get the ol’ blood pumping, like a rush of nicotine (pun intended).

I happened to stumble upon a relevant topic this weekend on MPR, the new statistics on unemployment in America.  While I feel an urge to hop on my soapbox and launch into a political tirade, I’ll digress in favor of using this as an opportunity to foray into the true concept of an occupation.

The root word for amateur means to love or be a lover.  Essentially, to have a passion for.  Conversely, the word professional originally applied to a 13th century individual taking religious vows.  It wasn’t until the 16th century that it connoted a skilled individual in a craft.  A century later, it was applied to a group of individuals who embodied an occupation.  The hunt for root words and original meanings is a slippery slope for me.  Next I delved into the words craft and occupation.  Craft had to do with power, strength or might and mental power being used toward a skill, while occupation comes from the meaning to seize, occupy or possess; to take up space or time.

Something about this doesn’t sit right with me.  I’m reminded of the quote “I’m not a golfer, I play golf.”  If we think about our professions, we have to wonder who is doing the occupying or possessing- is it really ourselves who are in control?  This especially applies if we find ourselves in a job or career that we have no real passion or love for.

Also, who or what has created a system in which we find ourselves taking jobs or entering careers out of necessity for survival?  Why do we call the things we love to do on our own time hobbies?  And why do we use the term “our own time?”  If it’s not our time, then whose is it?

I find it interesting that one of the first questions someone will ask you happens to be “what do you do for a living?”  Rarely does someone ask if you love what you do.  This led me to wonder about how few occupations there really are in comparison to how many hobbies seem to exist.

The phrase “I don’t live to work, I work to live” also befuddles me.  Either way it confounds what is really valuable.  Wouldn’t simply saying “I live” be better?

All of us have to do things we don’t enjoy doing at some time in our lives.  In fact, owning a gallery has been the toughest job in my life.  I don’t especially enjoy or have a passion for accounting, data entry or cleaning toilets for example.  (The second toughest job entailed pouring concrete for a couple of years in order to subsidize my privilege to do accounting, data entry and scrubbing toilets).  But I don’t think of the gallery as a job, just as I don’t think of making art as a career.  They are things I do out of a passion for creative expression.

While money is a concern, it has never been the focus or the reason for what I do.  The reality of the gallery is that the benefits (emotional and spiritual) far exceed the less satisfying aspects (toilet cleaning) and the lack of superficial gain (a shiny new BMW).  As John Ruskin put it, “the highest reward for a person’s toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it.”

Even so, I’ve had many spells of disillusionment in regards to my art and the gallery (burn out/artist block/lack of sales).  During these times, it’s difficult not to think of the gallery and making art as a profession.  Instead of a passion, I become burdened with the tasks I need to accomplish.  In essence, my work becomes my life.

It really boils down to perspective and expectations.  I’m constantly reminding myself that my art and gallery isn’t who I am and if it’s not working for the moment (burn out/artist block) I can take a break to explore other modes of creativity, like writing articles for you fine people.

So when we think of the unemployment rate, I would suggest that we ponder the actual percentage of fulfilled people in America.  Rather than focusing on quantity and human wheels in a cog, we could instead choose to think about quality and empowerment.  When we talk about jobs in terms of pay wages and skill levels, we take the focus off of why people are alive and what we are not only able to do, but what we are meant to do as creative beings.  America fails to foster and support an environment for its citizens to the degree in which is necessary to cultivate individual passions- so how can we further develop this environment in order for people to make a living based on individual interests?  To quote Ruskin, “I believe the right question to ask, respecting all ornament, is simply this: was it done with enjoyment, was the carver happy while he was about it?”

A lot is said about the ever-increasing quality of life in the western world.  In reference to this, people speak of roomier homes, faster cars, advanced technology… considering this focus on the external, it’s no wonder that so many people are on meds; plastic surgery has become the norm; and the entertainment business is paramount.

Life on this planet is short, but it is the perfect amount of time to discover our passions and strive to create the path in which we can indulge them…
to live with an amateur’s heart.

Cheers!