The Orchid Journal

This series of posts are about exploring careers. Besides providing a meaningful, and thus more efficient in the long run, approach to choosing careers, I will also provide some unique career path ideas. Whether you are starting out in college, unhappy in your current job, facing a mid-life career shift, or helping someone who is facing these decisions, I hope to spur some new thoughts in the process. (An artist in Old North St. Louis creates his mural. LCW, 2014) While there is nothing wrong with choosing a career in the hopes that it will bring financial stability, or basing the decision on how many jobs are currently available in that field, it may not the best method with which to choose a career path. There are people who graduated with a particular degree only to find that they can't stand the actual work environments or duties required of them in that field. There are also people that have found a suitable career emphasis for them, but are using it in an ill-fittin...

(This is not a sparrow. Bird in Tower Grove park, LCW, 2014) On my way to pick up a car for the journey to my niece's birthday party, I stopped at a nearby coffeeshop for a bagel and cream cheese. Like most Saturdays when I'm either too busy or too tired to make lunch, I had hardly eaten all day. I sat outside in the shade of an umbrella, watching the cars stream through the busy intersection while I carefully spread cream cheese on every inch of the bread. Absentmindedly, I stopped to toss a nearby sparrow a soft pinch of my bagel. The bird grabbed the crumb and worked it around in its beak, before flying up to the top of a nearby Metrolink sign. The day was one of those days that is saturated in beauty. The air was warm, with a breeze. The sun shined like the sun usually does, with or without clouds, and there was sufficient shade under the newly leafed trees. I had no money worries. My family is safe and well. On an empty stomach, the bliss of a cinnamon raisin bagel...