The Dream

Last night I had a dream that I had been sucked back to work in the corporate world. A lucrative offer was too hard to resist, and I was intoxicated. I took it. Then little by little I realized each sacrifice I would be making, including giving up the far less lucrative but far more satisfying jobs I have now. Any sense of control I had over my life was sucked right out of me and the dream turned into a nightmare.

When I woke up, I remembered that I'd been skimming through one of my old journals last night, looking for things to write about. The journal covered about a five-year period from the time leading up to our wedding until shortly after we moved to the home we are in now. Getting married seriously hampered my journal writing, by the way. We got married at the end of July, and I didn't write about it until October!

One of the themes that ran through the entries was my desire to extricate myself from the computer industry. But when I figured out how to leave one job, I'd get sucked right back into another. Part of the struggle was that I couldn't put my finger on what else I wanted to or could do. And the salary and perks were enticing.

I think my dream last night worked out the last of any residual doubt I had about leaving the corporate world. I may not have the salary and the perks (thank you, Roger, for pulling that weight for our family!), but I've got freedom, flexibility, and the chance to make a real difference in the world every day. I'll take it.