I just saw some Jehovah's Witnesses when I was out running today and this got me to thinking about seeing Micheal Jackson's mother on Oprah. Oprah asked her what she was doing when she found out her son had died. She told Oprah she was out knocking on doors and preaching, as part of her religion as a Jehovah's Witness. "You still do that?" Oprah asked in amazement. Obviously, as Micheal Jackson's mother, she didn't need to go knocking on doors, but at any rate, it's not like she was getting paid to do it. She did it because she felt compelled to do it, because it was something that gave her life meaning. And then I was thinking about an interview with Sophia Loren where she said every day she dusted, or cleaned around the house a bit, because if she didn't do that she would feel the day was wasted. Obviously, if you're Sophia Loren, you can afford to hire a housekeeper but it was something she still felt like she needed to do, that made her feel useful. So I was thinking, fame and/or fortune are not the only motivators for why we do things. It's about meaning. What would you keep doing if you won the lottery? My one thing I would keep doing is write because I love it and it keeps me sane, even if it doesn't pay the bills. Would you keep your job? Would you do something different that you're not doing now? I sometimes wonder how people with a lot of money (whether by earning it or inheriting it) stay motivated to keep working. Like, why does Bill Gates wake up in the morning? I seem to have a lot more questions than answers these days.
"I must write it all out, at any cost. Writing is thinking. It is more than living, for it is being conscience of living." Anne Morrow Lindbergh
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