Final Thoughts on Moore

This is probably the last entry I will devote to Moore's book "A Life at Work." As a result, I will limit myself mostly to quotes, with a few random comments. As I said, it is definitely a book worth picking up.

"In your confusion and experienting, you learn about the laws of life and you feel the burden of your existence. This is not a bad thing because it gives weight to your thougths and gives character to your work."
--All I can say is that this is one of those lines that struck me as true the moment I read it, in that it really feels that what I am doing is experimenting in all of this. I only hope I "learn about the laws of life."

"Here is my starting point in looking for a life work: Step out of the frenzied pursuit of the right job, look around at the whole of your life, and connect with the source of your vitality. If you begin with who you are and with the current of life you feel inside you, you will be grounded as you search and experiment. Your quest will be like a spring flowing from the font of your very nature, rather than a mere maddening search for a suitable occupation or position."
--I think this is the most helpful piece of advice I take away from the book, namely, the fact that you need to step back from the idea of getting the right job and look at the big picture. I sort of had a premonition of this when I did not attempt to the MSW while teaching. That would have ultimately involved a direct jump from one job to another without taking the step back that Moore recommends and that I certainly feel is needed. I should say that I don't feel I have even remotely begun this process. I should also add that I am not really sure how to go about doing this.


"You sit with the chaos of your work life, perhaps not able to get a useful job, certainly far from feelng that you have your life work in your hands. You sit there with your failures, wrong turns, bad choices, incomplet projects, far-off dreams, and frustrating expectations--any life teems with raw material, and it takes a long time to do the inventory. You sense the chaos and wnat to do something abou it. You may not see your situation as one of possibility and the ability to develop, but if you trust the alchemical wisdom you may glimst the secret of the chaotic. It allows change and development, whereas a clear and fixed job or position might blind you to future possibility. You may be too comfortable outside of chaos to consider the possible alternatives."
--I guess I like this line because it vindicates my choice--who doesn't like things that vindicate us. I also like the phrase "the secret of the chaotic."

"In therapy I have witnessed many people searching for deeper satisfaction in their lives, but they are so identified with the future, with possibilities that bounce in their heads and give them pleasure for the moment, that they don't really know what they want, or bettter, what their heart wants. Finding a life work is all about desire, not a passing wish--a deep, long-standing desire to be someone and to do something. Yet people often do not know themselves well enough to know what they want."
--I could go on quite a bit about this line. I have known the danger of having possibilities bounce in my head, of getting so caught up in the possible that you forget the actual. This also relates to the previous quote about taking time off to look around before making a decision, or rather, taking time off to look inside. Some of that is definitely called for.

"Rather than escape into pleasant fantasies of a successful future, it may be more useful to gather the courage to face the past in all its disturbing detail."
--No comment required on this, I think