CAREER INKLINGS FROM COLUMBIA

Janet M. Ruck

Creative Kayaking

As a fugitive from full-time work, I resist the urge to return to the workplace. This urge is not due to a need for money. I’ve come to realize it as a need for structure, to fill time, to be part of the millions who work. Paradoxically, this is why I removed myself from this structured world. Controlled and dictated by others, work is a place where the sand is always shifting, and the rules and the players are always changing. There is usually little control or joy on my part.

Time heals, life changes, I progress. As the weather improved on the east coast and Mother Nature roused herself from winter’s slumber, I felt the work-induced bonds slowly slip away. I began to create my own work, as the embodiment and expression of who I am. My work evolved into creative and physical pursuits. On a weekly basis, I began to participate in “kayaking Thursdays” with two other 50-something women who are also seeking more authenticity and magic than the expectations of a boss.

Each Thursday, we paddle down a different body of water, immersed in the beauty of the outdoors. Bald eagles, osprey, great blue herons, snowy white egrets all welcome us to their world. We have the chance to be part of a magnificent plan in which all beings are equal and all have their unique role.

Paddling and rowing, the sharp edges of a harsh world melt into the azure blue sky dotted by puff white clouds and diving osprey. I am enriched by the splendor of solitude and serenity bestowed upon us by our Mother. We’re all in this together, very much unlike the false starts and stops that take place in a workplace embroiled in the competitiveness and dysfunction which often accompany a lack of purpose.

My lesson is a simple one. To find meaning and a sense of self in a world filled with angry voices one must go into the quiet, which for me resides within the soul of self and Mother Nature. That is where my bliss awaits.

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Janet Ruck is as an escapee from the world of full-time work. As a career consultant and writer, she is consumed with helping people identify their passions, uniqueness, interests and talents to keep them from slipping into the faceless abyss of the workplace. Janet encourages herself and her clients through the use of journaling and creative self-expression as means of gaining perspective and insight into their authentic selves. She helps clients create and sustain satisfying careers by recognizing their own personal magic. Contact her at janetruck@yahoo.com.