Job vs. Vocation

Natalie Esparza
10-20-2012

Job vs. Vocation

“You live longer once you realize that any time spent being unhappy is wasted.”~Ruth E. Renkl

Money. All people come into contact with it; whether buying a car or a home, borrowing money for college, buying food to eat, all humans at one time or another are effected by it. And how do they get it? Well- if they are honest citizens- they get a job.

What does one do at a job? Work, work, and work. But, doesn't that have such a boring connotation? Work. The dictionary defines it as: exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor; toil. Ugh. Labor, toil. Once someone- usually a teenager- gets a job at a food or retail store, and what then? They work from age 16 to age 65, and then retire. Doesn't that seem so...monotonous. Logically, people need to live, in order to do that they need money, in order to get that they need a job, and when they retire, what then? What if there was something more?


I want to do something with my life. I want to feel like my life has meaning, I am doing something worth while. I don't want to waste away, saying things like "do you want fries with that?" until I am 65. So, is there an alternative?

Let's take a look at another word. Vocation. It's definition is: a particular occupation, business, or profession; calling. Or, a strong impulse or inclination to follow a particular activity or career.

Hm.

So, toil versus calling, labor versus inclination, a job versus a vocation.

I don't know about you, but I would much rather have a vocation, a calling, a dream realized, a purpose in life, than a cyclical monotony of work. Wouldn't it be amazing to get paid to do what you love? Don't you think it would make life that much more worth while? And the work you did would have so much more passion behind it.

Sources:
http://www.boolumaster.com/mixes-dj-blog/positive-quotes-11-9-11-enjoy-your-life/

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/job?s=t

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vocation?s=t