What’s My Purpose? Day 3

Okay, that got a little convoluted yesterday trying to see where the “I love it” and “the world needs it” circles overlapped. I think it might be easier if I could print them out and cross-reference. But I’m not really anywhere I can do that right now so I’ll just move on to the third circle, likely do the fourth tomorrow and then cross-reference all four circles when we get back up to America Junction on Tuesday and have my printer handy. Who knows, this process may tell me nothing but lately I’ve just been doing as much work as I can, using a lot of different tools to move forward. I’m serious about correcting the shit in my life that got me to the point of suicide last September. Or perhaps I should say “having the shit corrected” as I have now officially admitted complete personal powerlessness and am depending on a higher power to remove those things that stand in the way, not only of my attaining my goals and dreams, but more importantly stand in the way of my usefulness to That Which Created Me and my fellow travelers.

I’ll now set the timer for ten minutes and stream-of-consciousness rapid-fire out everything that pops to mind under the “I’m paid for it” category. Wait. Does that mean now? I mean what I’m currently being paid to do or what I have been paid to do? Either way, it’s not going to take me ten minutes to fill out that list. I reckon..hmm. Okay, given the purpose of playing around with this Venn, it would probably make more sense to list things that I could get paid for that also show up in the other three circles. Right? Or might show up in the other three circles.

Okay, here’s what I’m going to do; first I’ll list the ways I have gotten paid and then I’ll list some ways I’d like to get paid.

What I’ve gotten paid to do:

• janitor
• waiter (ten years, 4 restaurants)
• took orders and made deserts at a steak house
• did marketing surveys
• worked at two psychiatric hospitals
• was (am) a Marine
• actor
• director
• producer
• head a veterans’ charity
• military consultant to film
• playwright
• prostitute
• veterans workshop leader
• personal trainer
• massage therapist
• cut grass

(not necessarily in that order)

hmmm…. reckon that’s it. Can’t think of anything else I’ve been paid to do. Oh wait, I

• worked in wardrobe for Universal Studios and
• loaded pyro at the Batman Stuntshow

There. Now. I think that’s it.

Now that I think of it, I don’t really see the need to make another list of what I’d like to get paid to do. Those things are pretty much already all on the above list. There are a few of them. But here’s a clue– “prostitute” isn’t one of them. Not that I don’t figure I could find a market. There’s still some kick in the ole cowboy. And to tell you the truth, as many painful memories as I have associated with that time in my life, and although I have no intention of ever doing anything like that again, I can’t say that I regret it. It’s informed my experience in a certain way and made me more empathetic to people who find themselves working in the “sex industry.” When I try to help people with their problems these days, the crowd of people who can say, “You just don’t understand” is pretty dang small.

Happy Resurrection Y’all.

See y’all tomorrow.