The Importance of a Profession

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve increasingly felt that there are several core elements essential to a fulfilled life. One of these is pursuing something in life that one becomes very good at, which can take the form of a profession.

Paradoxically, in a spiritual sense we are complete and whole as we are; our intrinsic worth is not tied to outer achievements, status or possessions. And at the same time, for most of us our engagement in the world takes the form of work that occupies much of our day. It has been my experience that by becoming highly trained and developed in one or more areas we experience more satisfaction, joy and freedom.

My father used to say that whatever we study, if we go deeply enough we find the answers to everything. One of the greatest scientist/thinkers today, E.O. Wilson specializes in myrmecology, the study of ants. Through that lens he has uncovered many truths about all life on earth. In a short story, Tolstoy told of a cobbler who’s every stitch brought him ecstatic communion with God.

As mechanization has progressed, the artisanal trades have diminished and corporations have come to dominate the world of work. As a consequence it appears to me that young people have lost the sense of becoming a master of one’s own fate through an arduous apprenticeship or training, i.e. developing a profession. Rather, young college graduates generally look for a job that may or may not develop and make use of their passions and skills. The idea is to survive, and fit in, and climb up the ladder of a company. Most of this is done sitting at a desk. College usually does not leave young people with deep skills beyond reading, writing papers and test taking.

In the Hero’s Journey, the young person sets out on an adventure that challenges him or her to the utmost. In the process he/she encounters the mentor(s), the enemies/obstacles, overwhelming challenges, and in the process brings back the elixir or the power to transform the world. If this journey is not undertaken, the young person can remain bound in childhood (e.g. the Puer Aeternus, or eternal child), and continue to float in all possibilities but commit to and accomplish nothing.

I have seen young people shy away from professional development because it is “difficult and long.” I tell them, “good- everything worth doing is difficult and long!” So instead of being an obstacle the difficulty may be a sign we’re heading in the right direction. To be a hero’s journey, there must, and will, be times we’re not sure we’re going to make it.

One final quality of a worthwhile profession, in my view, is this: we can never completely master it, learning about it never stops, and it is enriched by all our other interests, readings and pursuits. This way we remain fully alert, continuing to grow into old age, and sharing the depth of our understanding with others. We become the mentor.