Is there anything you do out of a feeling of guilt or obligation, as opposed to a true desire?
Chances are, yes. We all have some things, whether major or just rinky dink stuff, we do because we "should." Chalk it up to feeling obligated, or feeling guilty if it's not done, we've all got something like that.
I just started reading "The Book of Fate" by Brad Meltzer. It's a Vince Flynn meets Dan Brown meets Tom Clancy sorta novel; Presidential assassination attempt by a secret society, you get the picture.
The main character, Wes, was a Presidential aid who was injured in the assassination attempt. He not only still carries some major physical scars, but some pretty deep PTSD, too. Now, eight years following the madman's shooting rampage, Wes is conversing with his friend, a lawyer who fixes traffic tickets and absolutely LOVES his job. Wes still works for the former President, doing all the little details of coordinating a celebrity who is no longer in office. The lawyer friend asks Wes point blank why he does this lowly job. Wes can't explain it verbally, but we (from the reader's perspective) know it's all about the guilt he feels about the assassination attempt. Still, nearly a decade later, he's stuck in a job he hates, going no where, continuing to have his life governed by others-all out of a feeling of guilt.
Is this any way to live? Not in my book. Yet, there are loads of people who DO live this way-every day.
Some things we need to be obligated to. Others, we mentally create obligations out of thin air.
Whatever your reasons for doing what you do, be aware, evaluate and be sure you are the person who controls your life. Because it is, after all, the only life you have. And living life out of guilt isn't living at all.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
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