There is a new movement afoot, or maybe it has always been a foot but I just never noticed it because I was never a member of it. This movement is the idea that the only way to get what you want out of life, or as the Dead Poets Society reminded us (referencing Henry David Thoreau), is to suck the marrow out of life.
That is easier said than done, especially since we give away the best years of our life, and the most productive hours of our day in order to receive a paycheque, every two weeks, if you’re the lucky one. Not that work isn’t a blessing, of course it is. I would not be where I am today without it and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity and the life teaching has provided for me and my family, but life is deeper. God calls you to more meaningful existence than whatever you went to school for, or happen to find yourself doing. There are things and dreams that work which takes place between nine and five simply cannot provide. This is why you need to also work between five and nine. You have to join the five to nine movement, because it is the only way to suck that marrow out of life.
At the end of the day, everyone else goes home to make dinner, open a bottle of wine, and kicks their feet up. If you have kids your evening might be slightly more complicated and rushed as you drive your kids to hockey games and gymnastics practice, but eventually you can settle down and read a little, watch a bit of television a little, or do whatever brings joy and meaning to their life.
There is nothing inherently wrong with down time. We all need it but it is it’s own reward and when we wake up the next morning, we have nothing to show for our efforts.
The five to nine movement of which I am a recent member aims to create. It holds creating, inventing, making something that has never existed before a passion. A passion that takes precedence over enjoyment, but it does not rob the family.
Each day has limited time and you are either watching or you are leading. You will observe or you will act.
Funny how easily we understand that when we work for someone else. We don’t question the work. We do whatever is asked of us. We take it all, but we don’t do that for ourselves with things that really matter to us, that at the core give us meaning.
The five to nine movement is calling you. It asks you to set aside time each and every day and pursue something you’ve always dreamed of pursuing. You cannot change who you are, or where you are, or who you’re with, but you can over time fall in love with life all over again.
When I write and take photos, I feel fully human and fully alive. It’s not easy. As a matter of fact it is never easy, the dedication, commitment and persistence, next to parenting, is one of the most challenging things I have ever undertaken. But the act of doing what I love gives me an outlook on life I have never had before. I am full of contentment, gratitude and joy. I see little things that most people miss.
I am a five to nine and there is an opening for you as well.
(Bring sticky notes).
Cover photo generously provided by photographer Tina Rataj-Berard https://unsplash.com/@t_rat_max
