Tax season is here, and I'm not exactly sure why, but I'm not provoked to talk politics. Sure, I could rant about how the government is suffocating the self-employed, but I'm not going to waste my breath because there's something more important than money when it comes to making a living. It's called intuition. If I were to go against it, no matter how secure my job, my conscience would haunt me all my years because I'd know I didn't follow my heart. I still believe in business. I believe in the private sector and the American economy, despite all the hard hits they've taken over the past several years. I still believe in the American who has the courage to swim upstream and start his or her own business. Sure, it's a blessing to have a nine to five job; but for some people it's just not for them. Every able person should work, but the work they do ought to uphold their dignity and individuality. Every employer ought to embrace the whole person, not just their skill sets and experience. And sure, those who have a steady, secure, good-paying job also have their hobbies that they get to in their spare time, so I'm not saying their job completely suppresses them. However, oftentimes those hobbies used to be their childhood passions until they faced "reality."
There's no reason you can't do what you love for a living. I know it sounds cliché, but it's true if you're willing to endure years of hardship fighting for your dream. The problem with the popular approach to following your heart is that it's not a responsible approach. Sincerely fighting for your dream is just as draining as a nine to five job, if not more so, but it's also more rewarding. My work consists of random freelance writing assignments that usually take up more or less than the normal work day, but over seven days the assignments usually do equate to the normal work week. In my spare time I help make a dream into a reality. With the help of Amy, our managing editor, and Susan, our business manager, we are putting together Rambling Spirit magazine. In this Business & Economics section, we want to encourage people to not give up on the American Dream; because in essence it means believing in yourself. Reality isn't something that we should have to "face" as if it's some enemy lurking in the shadow waiting to strike. It's something we should embrace and celebrate because it is God's creation. When we embrace reality with God's timeless wisdom and joy, we accept all forms of suffering with understanding. And the world is still fresh, ripe for new innovations and discoveries. Have we lost that sense of wonder, that ingenuity? If we haven't, then it's our job to prove it.