I've been very please to read a whole series on work, love, and spirit, that has been an ongoing series, over at Syntegral (or maybe sIntegral, but I like syntregral.  It's my blog, I'll call his blog what I want to!)

Starting with the post "The Eros of Marx", and continuing through now - with the latest post being "Following Bliss as a Goal...Or...As Process?".

The series starts with a clear statement of intent, subscribed to Freud:

"Our ol' buddy Dr. Freud stated that there are really only two actual pursuits in life--love and work. Our only concerns are with a) what will you create, give birth to, produce, and b) how shall you relate to, communicate with, engage the world around you. That is all. The rest is of no consequence. Or, there is no 'the rest.' "

And continues from there. There are, so far, 13 posts related to this topic.

It is a good series of writing - well-thought, contemplative, considering disparate topics such as the psychic (fear, passion), psychology (Freud), materiality (Marx), and the creative and existential impulse of how-to-be-in-the-world, and finding meaning in work and in life.

I've commented on occasion to this series.  My main concern was exposing the narcissistic elements of desiring the "perfect" work, and balancing the desires for the best work, with a practical consideration of other values.

Take for example - doctors!  I have a couple of accounting friends, who are self-employed, and have worked for a variety of different companies and individuals,- profit, non-profit, small companies, other self-employed, etc, etc.

Both of these individuals will do work for pretty much any company or person EXCEPT for - doctors! And one other exception, inherited money.

In the case of doctors, both of these friends have found the arrogance in doctors caused too much inability to listen and need to be pre-emptorily controlling - so working for doctors was simply far too much of a pain.  Needless to say, this isn't true for all doctors, but it is generally true enough as a rule, that both these friends stay away from doctors!  (the other exception was not to work for inherited money, because there was too much fear for the inherited rich, of being taken advantage of, based on their money.  In general, nice people, but too many other people have befriended, approached, desired contact, simply with an external motivation).

So - doctors.  This is, in a sense, perfect "work".  You are paid well, you help people, you run your own business, you have good hours.  Following your bliss, yes?

And yet, if my friends are to be believed, all these successful qualities of the doctor - the intelligence, the drive, the SUCCESS, leads to personal qualities that are missing something.

I've learned as much from NOT having the perfect job, as having the perfect job.  (Now of course, I need to learn what comes with having the perfect job!)   If you are always the "successful know-it-all", so to speak, well, that's a limiting persona to have, in any field. 

So I wonder what the balance is between striving towards passion, meaning, greater accomplishment, and simply being normal, human, and the lessons of life this also gives.