Monday, March 23, 2009

Dreams Of Travel And Teaching

It's 20 degrees outside, with a wind chill that makes it feels colder despite the sunshine and clear skies. Yeah, not feeling so much like spring.

I am home this week, like every other week. I have meetings to attend and things to do, all within twenty-five miles of my house.

Members of my family are traveling for work this week ~ to New Hampshire, Arkansas, and France.

I dream of travel, literally. In Steering by Starlight: Find Your Right Life No Matter What! Martha Beck advises the reader to pay attention to their dreams. I often dream I am traveling, for work, to talk to groups of people. For years I have fantasized about having a job where I travel, although I'm not sure what the job is that I'm doing. I see myself rushing through the airport on my way to catch a plane. I don't know where I'm going, but I have someplace to be associated with the work I'm doing.

I also dream about teaching. For months I have had dreams about working in situations where I am teaching; sometimes I am working with children and sometimes with adults. I don't remember what I am teaching or where I am working. Sometimes I am sitting at a table with a small group, and sometimes I am standing in front of a large group of people.

I don't think my dreams of travel and teaching are symbols for something else.

I like to travel, but I have never travelled for work. Some of my desire to travel may be in response to all the years I have stayed home while my husband hits the road. I'd like to be the one who goes away for days at a time. I'd like to come home to a clean house and a prepared meal, to hear about what has happened around the house all week, knowing that everything has been taken care of in my absence.

Even though I don't plan to return to classroom teaching, there are many other jobs where teaching is part of the job description. When I got a degree in education, many people told me that the skills would be transferable. It's a matter of finding the right position.

And I am still trying. I received another thank-you-for-your-application-but-we-hired-someone-else email this morning. I have just about exhausted the contacts I made through my internship while working on my MSW.

The career counselor brought to my attention three weeks ago that I mentioned three different entrepreneurial opportunities. My response was that I don't really want to work for myself. I want to work with other people. She said that I could keep the ideas in mind as I move through the career exploration process. Maybe something will come to light with the interest survey.

Everything is in a jumble today.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Being an entrepreneur doesn't have to mean not working with other people. All kinds of work is being outsourced nowadays, in which you interact or team-up with others in various ways ... you're just doing it as a self-employed person, a consultant, or a small business-person, rather than as an employee. (I can think of quite a few consultants/entrepreneurs whose jobs involve traveling and teaching, too.)

Joanne said...

It's interesting reading about your job quest, as you narrow your focus. Is teaching adjunct at college level a possibility? Teaching a course or two? Often times those jobs branch off into other opportunities ... running a writing center, student workshops, seminars. Or maybe a little freelance writing as you search, even writing articles about the search?

Janice Lynne Lundy said...

It is hard being "in the jumble" as you say, Sharon. Sometimes it is all about being in the "meantime" (as Iyana Vanzant calls it). It's tough to be in that place but amazingly, if we are patient and move more into surrender than control, our openness (instead of clutching) provides unique opportunities. I just keep thinking that something just right is waiting for you--but perhaps all the pieces of the puzzle are not yet together out there in the big blue universe. When they are ready, they will present themselves to you.

I think it's great that you've identified two of your interests (and perhaps intuitions). Perhaps identifying them is part of this unfolding...They say patience is a virtue. I believe that 100%. The best things do come to those who are able to wait...and abide....and trust. :-)

Anonymous said...

It's fun to journey with you! It'll all sift out don't worry!