Do You LOVE What You Do?

 

In every line of work there are aspects that are less likable. Some of these “unlikables” are universal, but most are not. (You’d think that cleaning toilets, for example, would be one of the universally despised tasks, but I have known more than one person who didn’t feel this way.)

 

But then there are the things people love about their job. Perhaps it’s their co-workers, or the way they can look with satisfaction at what they have done/made/accomplished at the end of the week, or the challenge of the work itself.

 

No matter what, the closest way I find to gauging how much one loves what they do is, barring the need for money, if they do or don’t wish to retire.

 

I thought about it the other day, when one of my doctors (the internist I see for general checkups who is universally adored by her patients) told me she hopes to retire soon. She isn’t old, not by MDs standards, for they have no mandatory retirement age.

My dermatologist, who is at least twenty years older than my GP, told me he can’t imagine retiring. He loves his work.

 

I thought about it again when a writing colleague who’s a gifted and published writer said she was done writing. She’s now a retired writer. It has been a rewarding and enriching journey, but she was done.

Writers, like doctors, don’t have to retire. Writing is separate from publishing, because most writers are never published. This isn’t (for the vast majority) a matter of money.

 

It is all about how much you love what you do.

 

If money considerations were not in the mix, would you:

1.      Retire right now

2.      Never retire

3.      Not sure. Not retire now but can see retiring from your work in the future

 

I am guessing (it isn’t more than a guess, no statistics worth quoting here) that most people would retire yesterday if money were not an issue.

That is plumb sad.

Count yourself lucky if, like my dermatologist, retirement holds no charm for you.

February 20th in History

 

Or—

1872: NEW YORK'S METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART OPENS

 

{^The Metropolitan Museum of art circa 1903}

If you love visiting museums, I promise the Metropolitan Museum on New York city’s upper East Side will not disappoint.

 

At its founding, it was a modest thing, conceived in Paris by a small group of Americans who wished the new world to hold some of the treasures Europe had.

 

It grew to be one of the best museums in the world.

 

What I have learned about museums of such scope is to not try to visit all their parts, not even as “a focus plus a quick run through.” A quick run-through, as some do so they can attest to having seen, is exactly how not to enjoy a museum.

 

At the Met, as the locals call it, I make sure to focus on what I love and leave the rest. For me, it’s the Islamic art section, and (sometimes) the furnished period rooms. For you it may be Renaissance art, or art of the Far East, or costumes (much better at the Smithsonian, in my opinion) and even Impressionist art (stronger at the Museum of Modern art, also IMO.) Perhaps you’re intrigued by art of the ancient world (Greek vases, anyone?) or medieval iconography. No matter. The point is to go for what you like or are most eager to learn about when you are fresh and keen on both seeing and reading.

 

Two hours at a time does it for me. This is not a school assignment. This is about pleasure.

The key is to leave before fatigue sets in.

💐Happy Birthday💐 

💐dear MET💐

{^Damascus Room at the MET^}

Another Reason to Heart VALENTINE’S DAY

 

{Yes, it’s tomorrow}

 

The human heart doesn’t look much like the graphic known as “heart.” 💓

No matter, because it is one of my favorite symbols, and not just because of the added spiritual/emotional meaning.

 

There is something intriguing about the side-to-side/left-to-right symmetry against the asymmetry of the up-and-down/north-to-south. 

 

It’s this dichotomy that makes the heart symbol. Thus, it’s never boring.

 

It’s also this seeming built-in contradiction that does in effect echo the human emotion, the contradictions those of us who are fortunate to reach maturity learn to accept and even embrace.

 

Heart 💝 to you. If you’re reading this, you are my valentines.

DIGITAL SECURITY & COMMON SENSE

 

By now, I would hope we all know not to click on any link provided in a business email, even as the email convincingly purports to come from a trusted company we have dealings with, such as our bank, website host, or our government. Close the email and log onto your account to check if this email or purported activity did indeed take place and requires an action from you.

 

Goodness, the same digital hygiene practice also applies to emails from friends when they don’t include clear text identifiers that could only come from your friend. Spoofing email addresses is an old scammer's trick. 

   

So, when we access the purported sender the safe way by looking their contact information ourselves and asking if the email was legit, we also educate our friends to not be sending links only. As to businesses, this means calling your bank with the contact number you have (not in the email) and speaking to security.

 

And so, this is what I did. My attempt to educate my bank went as follows:

 

Mirka’s Bank Security Specialist (MBSS for short): “Yes, indeed, you did well NOT TO click on the link. You are right to check with me.”

Mirka: “So was this email from you?”

MBSS: “Yes, we sent it.”

Mirka: “And it said to click on a link?”

MBSS: “Yes, I see that.”

Mirka: “And you say I should never do that?”

MBSS: “Yes, that’s correct. Never do that. Access your account from your own log-in, always.”

Mirka: “So why do you continue to send such emails with links that ask for log-in?”

MBSS: “It’s a courtesy. A convenience. But never access any sensitive account from an email. You are right.”

 

I also got such emails from my webhost and got a similar confirmation from their security specialist that I did right NOT to access the link in the email.

 

This reminded me of the chapter in The Little Prince, where the drunk explains that he drinks to forget his shame and his shame is that he drinks.

This madness of trusted companies’ emails continues, as well as occasional real friends sending links with nary a word that would distinguish them from phishing scams. I always check, and I continue to use the safe practice of never ever clicking on email links until verified.