Musings On The Ideal Job

In response to Diana Huggins’ Describe Your Ideal Job, the ever-prolific Gnomie Stu Kopelman writes:

Dear Diana,

I am not too certain there is the “ideal job.” Things change and so do
we. All circumstances, whether in a job context or otherwise, do not
remain static. Therefore, things that happen one moment cannot be
depended upon to happen the next. What makes anything ideal is not the
subject, but the person. Let me explain:

When we say we are happy, what we really mean is that we feel well, or
things are going smoothly. When we declare that we are unhappy, we
generally mean that we do not feel well, or our circumstances are not
going the way we wish them to go. But feelings and circumstances change.
They are fleeting and momentary, and therefore we cannot depend upon
them to satisfy us over the long haul. In the same way, the job we have
today may be the monster we want to run from tomorrow. Feelings and
circumstances are not reliable!

What is reliable? A steadfastness of heart to overcome our feelings and
circumstances by an act of our will to do what is right. We know that
from past experience, the sun shines after a hard rain - both literally
and figuratively. We can depend upon this outcome because we can
trust it to occur repeatedly. When we make a choice to overcome how we
feel, and do what we know is right - in any set of circumstances - we
can be content and at peace in all storms of life, be they a job, a
marriage, ill-heath, or even death.

A job to some is having wealth, but many suicides are committed daily by
millionaires whose hearts are bankrupt. If there is an ideal job, it
would be the job of living each day, being content whether well fed or
hungry, and knowing that things cannot be counted on to fulfill our
destinies. Each of us write the pages to our life book. The title
becomes clearer as the pages are written.

Your question, “What is your ideal job,” is an unfair one; it should be
asked, “Who is the ideal person?” For he can do the worst of jobs with
peace in his heart, and to him, they are merely stepping stones to
something greater.