It doesn't matter

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and
Saw a Cheshire cat in a tree.
"Which road do I take?" she asked.
His response was a question:
"Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know," Alice answered.
"Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter."

- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Pebbles in my Shoe

There’s a new girl in my department named Ariel. In an impromptu birthday party in the 3rd floor breakroom today, I met Ariel over a piece of strawberry cake as someone introduced her to the crowd. Without hesitation, in the hustle and bustle, I quietly sang “Awwww, Awwww….” to myself. I then giggled to myself at how involuntary that reaction was to one single word. After the party I walked back to my desk singing the song, “Look at this stuff, isn’t it neat?” Then I inwardly began to belt the song as loud as I could, imagining how I would dramatically emphasize the parts SHE did.

Then came the part, “I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty. I've got whozits and whatzits galore. You want thingamabobs? I've got twenty! But who cares? No big deal. I want more!” Yet again, I was reminded of something has been not only invading my thoughts today, but for months, for years. This idea that we’re made for so much more… that we, as created humans, have these talents and passions that seem to hide in us like a pebble in our shoes. We know it’s there, but we’re in too much of a hurry to finish the race, we don’t take a minute to examine it. This idea of not just pursuing what you’re passionate about, but STOPPING what you’re doing in order to pursue it, has been so clearly set in front of my eyes lately. The idea of doing what makes your heart sing, no matter what the cost…is tricky.

What is it that makes your heart sing? Is it worth giving up so much (a steady paycheck, for example) for that experience of knowing that you’re doing what you were made for? Is it worth losing so much so that you can have a job that doesn’t feel like a job? The kind of work that makes you forget to eat or sleep. What’s worth giving up for that? Nothing, or everything?

No conclusions today. Just strawberry cake, The Little Mermaid, and my thoughts- mere pebbles in my shoe.

Today as I worked, I listened to this and loved it.



The video above is the long version of an animated video I fell in love with recently.



If you’ve only got 20 minutes, here’s a little one that’s good.