Being Engaged in Your Work

The thing about an upper middle class upbringing is the great expectations and the intense competition and pressure to achieve, achieve, achieve. I reject this on all fronts. It still haunts me though. I had to run away and lead my life and really lead it, not get brainwashed into chasing after these notions that I was raised with. I believe that being fully engaged in creating the work is the true gift and subsequent fulfillment.

Touch the brush and see where it leads. Scribble words and see where they lead. Touch the water and see what happens. No rules. The upper middle class notion that one has to become rich and famous to redeem your parents sacrifices and win their love and approval as well as maintain or surpass their socioeconomic level is completely ridiculous. It's a notion that is severely flawed and can leave a person feeling like a failure when the true fulfillment is at hand; being engaged in your work.