So it has been a few weeks since my last
post, and I find myself in pretty much the same position and trying to
understand what I am going to do work wise. Nothing has really changed; I have
moments where my glass is still half full and other times where half empty is an
understatement!
I have been working in the field of climate
change for the last decade and where my heart still lies. The issue has always
been a distinct lack of leadership, and with the recent flooding; the
environment is back on the agenda. Understanding what role I should be playing
is where I find myself right now and in doing so have been struggling with the
fiasco of following ‘head’ or ‘heart’.
My head says, ‘you have responsibilities my
friend; a family to support, a mortgage to pay, a car to run etc. What ensues
is looking at jobs that are well paid, in my sector, but invariably are in the
cities.
The impact might well be job satisfaction,
and one would hope financial stability but it comes at a cost, namely; being away
from my family during the week and the inevitable stress than brings.
My heart says similar things, but is much
more interested in me finding a job locally that allows me to do all of the
above and remain a conscious, present father who can watch my kids grow up and
be part of the family rather than some misnomer that rocks up every weekend
thinking he owns the place!
Frome (Somerset) was voted the 4th
best place in the country to live by the Guardian recently, (F%^K knows how),
but it is a creative hub, and for whatever reason does seem to be the
epi-centre of the universe as we know it!
I have spent the last month following my
heart and in the process exhausted every contact I know within a 20 mile radius
of Frome and without success. It has not been through lack of trying and
therefore I beg the question of whether it is meant to be right now?
The reality is that ‘trusting the process’
is becoming that much more challenging as my options diminish, and although I
am a firm believer in following my heart, I am challenging the space as I know
it. On saying that I came across the following quote by Simran Khurana and
loved it!
If you think with your head,
a heart is just an organ that pumps blood. But if you think with your heart,
you know that a heart is the core of human existence. A heart feels, emotes,
and expresses. With a heart you can perceive, understand, and judge.
Maybe I really do just need to follow my
heart and trust in the process!