The first question people usually ask me: “so what do you do?” It’s an effort to get to know who someone is, what they’re about, how their life works. Nothing wrong there! Here’s the thing, what if we change the way we answer this question? Maybe not literally, but mentally.
Hear me out. I think our society is focused on outward appearance of everything. Generally, we tend to gauge a person’s success on their bank account, their beauty on their appearance, and we have this imaginary timeline that everyone is supposed to follow (college, marriage, babies). Now, do I agree with this? No! But the bottom line is, society does not have the same view as I do. So how do we change that? By answering that question of “So what do you do?” in a new way, and we answer it daily. Stay with me here.
I’m not saying change your job, I’m saying you have more than one. Duh, you can be a parent, a spouse, a child, a sibling. Right, those are all jobs, but that’s not what I’m talking about. You have your occupation in which you make a living, and you have your job as a human. Now here’s the answer I’m talking about. The meat and potatoes of life, if you will:
“What is your job? To be a good human.”
Marcus Aurelius*
That’s it. That’s your job. That’s our job. It doesn’t matter who you are, your religion, your skin color, your circumstances, your political views. Your bank account doesn’t change the answer. Your occupation doesn’t change the answer. Your marital status or amount of children you’ve birthed doesn’t change the answer. Your number of followers or perceived outward appearance doesn’t change the answer. Every single person’s job is the same.
And y’all, we need a job evaluation right now.
What happens when we ask ourselves that question every morning? What happens when we reflect on that question every night? Did I do my job today? Was I a good human? THINK. ABOUT. THAT. Y’all REALLY think about that. Our world would be a different place.
I’ve been quiet about everything going on. Social media is really a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation. This is my heart, right here. And I’m going to leave you with this. In high school volleyball we would get ourselves all hyped up in a huddle before the game, and we would usually end with this obnoxious rhyme: “KA (kick ass) all the way, let’s go Hawks!” So, do your damn job. And kick ass at it.
*Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor, a Stoic philosopher, and frankly a very intelligent man.