At the end of September, I’m leaving my job and moving out of my flat, and I haven’t a replacement lined up for either. But that’s OK – it’s sort of the point, really.
After much discussion and more than a bit of prevarication, we are going to book some flights after work tonight. We’re off to New Zealand for a while, hopefully until the northern spring anyway. We got work visas, and a bit of cash stashed, so we reckon on being able to sustain a reasonable life over there for a while, plus take a look round what’s supposed to be one of the most beautiful countries on the planet.
And them when we get back, headspace refound and rut long abandoned, it’s time to start again. And the aim is to build a better life, one where the inevitable earning of money doesn’t end up totally dominating every other aspect of life. I’m already in a reasonable starting position, with no real debt and no responsibilities, which provides an opportunity to take a few risks without putting anyone else out.
Adam Greenfield wrote an interesting post at marginwalker titled ‘Real value and the nature of work’, where he talks about the difference between modes of “work” and asks us how we “construct creativity and work” – how do we build a balance between them into our lives? He has made a decision to chase a life where he survives and (hopefully!) prospers doing the things that he does best, the things he finds constructive and enjoys, because one the one hand he’ll be happier that way, and on the other he feels that he’ll contribute more that way.
And I think he’s right, and that’s where I’ve been going in my own thoughts lately. I’m afraid that I’ve yet to evolve any methods to do this, but we’ve got to start somewhere, and this is an opportunity to do just that.
