Happiness and doing what you love in life.

[Dreadbelly]

It occured to me, as I was sitting on the couch with my dog, hooking out a hat, just how happy I was. I was rather meditative, zoning out, way out... And no, I haven't been drinking anything.

It just sort of popped in to my mind "Hey, you freckled idiot, guess what. You're happy." "I am?" "Hey, I am!"

Followed by an odd feeling of serenity. Which is really unusual for me. Really. I am high strung and jittery. Serenity is not a common emotion for me at all.

So. I got to thinking... Is this a calling? Making stuff I mean. I don't really know if I can explain it. I really don't know what the emotion was to be honest. I realise there is no way I could make a self supporting living on making hats, I don't mean just those. I am not really sure what I mean.

I think we've all had those jobs that we hated. Loathed. We didn't want to be there, and it showed. Every ounce of our being, every fibre of our body, every little part of us, hated what we were doing, whatever that was. Know what I mean? And then there are jobs, we sit down, or stand, or well, you get the idea. We go to work and don't realise we are working. We're just happy. Exceptionally so. I don't think I've ever really felt this way before, even when I was working as a cook.

For you guys doing what you love, kilt makers, sporran makers, those of you "living the dream", what does it feel like? This is new for me. What do you feel when you fire up the sewing machine in the morning? Or break out the leather punch? Or break out the paint brushes and paint signs... I know there are a lot of people here who make their own way. What is it like for you and how did you know for sure you found your own niche? Was it like a lightbulb went off in your head? Did you hear angels singing? Were you sitting around one night plugging away and come to the sudden realisation that you were at one with the universe at the same time that you were working to support your self? I would really love to hear your take on it...

Thanks.

[The Wizard of BC]

I unlock the shop in the morning and my palms start to sweat. I push the on button of the sewing machine and my mind goes whirly-whirly. I grab an in-work kilt from its box and the little demon sitting on my shoulder screams in my ear.
"You idiot! What makes you think you can do this?"
This whole kiltmaking thing started because the company I was working for was going under and I still had food to buy and a house to pay for.
I thought it was going to be a small, dinning room, retirement business. Now I've got employees and customers on the order board.
Calm, peacefull, ecstatic, give me a break. I'm so worried that I'm going to screw this up that just thinking about it makes my stomach so upset I think I need to go puke.

[Sean_the_Kilted]

You both are lucky men. Many people never find out or are able to do what they love. While I'm reasonably happy, i'm definately not in my dream job or even really know what my dream job is. Enjoy it and hold on to it.

[cessna152towser]

Since I took early retirement three years ago from being manager of our local Town Hall here I've enjoyed living the dream of getting involved in aviation, which was my late father's career. I'm a part-time volunteer at an aviation museum and also hold a private pilot's licence. I keep the cost of my flying down by mucking in at the flying school helping get planes in and out of the hangar and taxi-ing them to and from the fuel bowser for refuelling. Of course all this costs money. While my pension pays for life's essentials, I've set up my own part-time law practice (I qualified as a lawyer in 1975 but then made my career in public admin.) to pay for luxuries like flying and kilts. Like you, Dread, I find working for myself is very fulfilling and since I left a highly stressful Town Hall job I've quit the booze and much healthier for it.

[Kilted KT]

Dread, sounds like your on the right track. When I retire at 40 (I've got a LOT of work to do to make that happen, and very few years to do it!) I'll hopefully get to feel that same way about whatever I am doing!

[Dreadbelly]

Since I took early retirement three years ago from being manager of our local Town Hall here I've enjoyed living the dream of getting involved in aviation, which was my late father's career. I'm a part-time volunteer at an aviation museum and also hold a private pilot's licence. I keep the cost of my flying down by mucking in at the flying school helping get planes in and out of the hangar and taxi-ing them to and from the fuel bowser for refuelling. Of course all this costs money. While my pension pays for life's essentials, I've set up my own part-time law practice (I qualified as a lawyer in 1975 but then made my career in public admin.) to pay for luxuries like flying and kilts. Like you, Dread, I find working for myself is very fulfilling and since I left a highly stressful Town Hall job I've kicked the booze and much healthier for it.

So getting away from the rat race took away the stress which made you unhappy enough to self medicate. Interesting.

Don't mind me, just thinking outloud.

[Kilted KT]

So getting away from the rat race took away the stress which made you unhappy enough to self medicate. Interesting.

Don't mind me, just thinking outloud.

I do believe you've identified the reason why happy hour is such a popular event, even though it is little more than everyone trying to escape the nightmare of a job they have if only for a few minutes. I'm pretty sure millions of people wouldn't be getting obliterated daily if they didn't have so much stress and BS in their lives.

[Dreadbelly]

So it is more like an "unhappy hour" then.

Something said has me taking a hard long look at my self. When I worked, as a cook, all those years ago, when I was just starting out in my life, I was a binge drinker. I mean, dangerously so. It is part of the reason I am disabled now.

Just after reading what Cessna wrote, I got to thinking that maybe I wasn't as happy as I believed my self to be when I was working as a cook. Perhaps what I thought was being happy I am confusing with being pickled.

Some times we can't see the obvious till somebody points it out for us.

Thanks. Both of you.

[Mr. Kilt]

Sounds like you just came to a very important point in your life, Dread. I think you will find that life will now improve by leaps and bounds. It makes me a happy person knowing this.

For years and years I worked in dead-end, boring, and downright crappy jobs. Jack-of-all-trades, master of none. Never made a decent wage, never got much respect from tyrant bosses, etc. My IBS would act up alot, due to stress.

When I was out of work a few years ago I really didn't know what direction I wanted to go. My only marketable skill was driving, but most driving jobs didn't pay very well at the time. A neighbour kept nagging me to try driving a transit bus. I kept refusing, believing that I would hate it.

Well, surprise surprise! It has been the most rewarding job I have ever had in my 44 years on the planet! Sure, there's the odd bad day, but 99.9% of the time I can't believe I get paid to do it. The amount if days I take off sick due to the IBS dropped from as much as 20 days per year in previous jobs, down to 5 last year.

Dread, I will drink a toast to you when I get home from work tonight. It would appear that the tables have finally turned for the better for you.

[Kilted KT]

Heh...here is another testament to getting rid of the stresses of boring jobs. While I'm not fond of my current job, I more than make up for it being with my son and wife and with my Brotherhood of the Kilt endevours. They more than make up for spending hours staring down a computer screen in a dank room.

If I could get rid of that one aspect of my life, I think a great many changes would happen, and most of them would be based around my overall general enjoyment of life.

for those of us who are still slaving away for the man, there is hope. Keep the kilt on and trudge through.