PRL gave me 'The Geography of Bliss' by Eric Weiner for Christmas, and for reasons I can’t really explain, it didn’t come into my possession until March. And it was worth the wait. I don’t read much non-fiction, as a rule, but this travel book ala road movie of self discovery is very, very good. And, as is my way, I have a passage I really want to share with you.

When Ambition is your God, the office is your temple, the employee handbook is your holy book. The sacred drink, coffee, is imbibed five times a day. When you worship Ambition, there is no Sabbath, no day of rest. Every day you rise early and kneel before the God Ambition, facing the direction of your PC. You pray alone, always alone, even though others may be present. Ambition is a vengeful God. He will smite those who fail to worship faithfully, but that is nothing compared to what He has in store for the faithful. They suffer the worst fate of all. For it is only when they are old and tired, entombed in the corner office, that the realization hits like a Biblical thunderclap. The God Ambition is a false God and always has been.

The cynic in me wants to just shout, “Ok, it’s hamlet, right?” But re-read it. It’s a great passage. This passage made me think about the sort of endless race that society seems to be caught up in in terms of productivity and creativity. I’m probably the last person to need a reminder to slow down and smell the roses, but with the modern-day emphasis on trying to getting somewhere and being  someone greater, it might be interesting if we spent more time realizing that we are someone great, and that we’re in the middle of something amazing.

Once you realize that being you is more important than becoming the better you, it’s possible that you’ll actually become the better you that you sought to become.

*woah*