The Path to Right Livelihood

For some reason lately - the past month or so, my head has been spinning trying to figure out what to do with my life. My soul is searching for something to do that will allow it to express and discover what it needs to in this lifetime. This past weekend, my friend and I went to the local rec center and I was teaching her some exercises to start building a program. Once again I was in my zone - I was teaching someone how to take charge of her health, squat by squat (as painful as it may be, sorry, Britt). If you don't have your health, you have nothing. The body may be a vessel for the soul but without it, the soul has difficulty attaining its goal. Your health is not something to be taken for granted unless you plan to go through life with blinders on.

Personal Training was really enjoyable but I got an office job and let my certification lapse. I still train friends (free of charge) when I can. I am passionate about health & fitness and love helping people find that passion within themselves. It is my way of changing the world in a positive way, person by person. I'm sensing that I need to get back into it but I don't exactly know in what capacity. I have a 'west coast' approach to fitness which is holistic. I don't know if simply training is enough so I allow my head to spin in the hopes that the answer comes to me.

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Those of us who start on the path to right livelihood find that our lives are more balanced, simple, clear, and focused. We are no longer strung out in a meaningless cycle of material consumption. The contemporary economy focuses on this cycle of consumption. It doesn't really support our efforts to find meaningful work. Today, work is a means to consume or to pay debt for consumption already indulged in. How many people do you know who really love the work they are doing? How many feel bored and alienated? How many are simply earning the money to spend it on material pleasures? Right livelihood demands that you take responsibility for making your work more meaningful. Good work is dignified. It develops your faculties and serves your community. It is a central human activity.


-- Roger Pritchard, in Claude Whitmyer's Mindfulness and Meaningful Work
from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book