One of my all-time favorite quotes is by Charles Kingsley, who said, “We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about.” I first discovered this quote while living in Africa, where it couldn’t have been more relevant. Faced with the least amount of comfort and luxury I had ever experienced, I was, for the most part, very happy, pleased with my path in life, and enthusiastic about my work, halting and plodding though it may have been.
I have the tendency to easily become enthusiastic about things but not necessarily follow through with them. I’ve dabbled in various interests and activities — dance, guitar, even skydiving — but have never stuck with one thing over the years. Even my writing has taken a backseat to trying to carve out some sort of meaningful career, which is obviously lacking enthusiasm for me, if you’ve read my previous posts.
Today, though, I feel enthusiastic. Maintaining this blog — random and somewhat sporadic my posts may be — has made me rediscover my love of writing. Last week, I combed through writing samples from previous jobs in order to build my new Web site (www.keisenbraun.webs.com) and I realized, there’s some good stuff here. I need to keep doing this. I have a talent and I need to use it. Building both my blog and Web site has given me a creative outlet I didn’t realize I was missing. And it’s given me something to be enthusiastic about. I realized this morning on the way to work that I was actually looking forward to starting the day, something I hadn’t experienced in a while, at least not on a weekday. Maybe the boredom I’ve been feeling in my job can be a little more tolerable if I continue to direct my energy into my creative endeavors. Now that my Web site is online, I’ve been applying for freelance writing jobs, which will hopefully help alleviate my professional ennui, and perhaps eventually lead to a new profession. For now, I’m excited to continue writing, even if it is just for a little blog with a readership of about five people (thanks for your support, y’all).
