What You Don't Know

So there I was...

(as all great storytellers know; first set the hook)

I was perusing all of the many job listings on the all too many job boards available in our instant-access-social Internet conglomerate. What a spectacle

  There was a time, in the not too distant past, "I don't know" suggested there would be time to find out. Now finding out is instantaneous along with complex. Because there are so many possible applications; so it takes more time to figure out which answer is the most applicable than the proposition which brought up the initial question demanded; in some ways, it's dreamlike.

 
Years ago I read Robert Pirsig’s, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It was one of those books I toyed with just dropping and moving on to something less demanding; I wasn't enthralled. Suddenly the author made a statement that alerted me to the fact that I was sleeping at the wheel; and that was at Chapter seven no less. Would you believe I went back and started reading it again from the start? But with brand new energy and with fresh eyes; seeking the pearls my hunger whispered to me were waiting to be discovered. One such pearl was an observation the main character had about the trap of knowledge. Where every fact created a new hypothesis, and where ultimately there were far more hypothesis then answers to the original question; kind of an Uncle Remus Tar Baby experience.

  Now all of THAT to say, I've come to the threshold of realizing that I've taken a lot for granted; and one of those things is I've not had to identify myself for quite some time.  Oh, when I was an Army Major, I could rely on the general public to acknowledge what an Army Major was. But, if need be, I could recite more details about being an Operations Officer; or a Field Artillery Officer. I could even go on to say what kind of weapon systems I was qualified to work with, or go so far as to reveal that I could be responsible for tactical nuclear weapons; I know, impressive or frightening depending on your point of view into my character.

Ahem, I am drifting.

  Even after I retired from the service I had a moment of sanctuary with being a student; I could say I was studying Psychology, and be left alone with a modicum of comfort by communicating that I was on a treadmill towards a destination.

But now?

  Now I am a graduate with sacks and sacks of experience and education on a specific topic, a license or certificate to tie a title onto. No "common reference of understanding" as it were, with Plumber, Lawyer, Circus Clown.

And let me tell you, seeking JUST work doesn't cut it; nor does becoming ordained as Baron of Atlanta, I've tried selling the notion; it doesn't wash.

So in that, at nearly sixty years of being content to be on the planet without being someone on it, I've come to embrace a very sharp contrast. One being; it's easy to get lost in the crowd of complacency, and that'd be the same as the cloak of a job title. The second; more tantalizing aspect is that with freedom to self-define comes the very cold blast of the real Zephyr~ without the comfort of ordinary terms, One is out in the wilderness looking for something ill defined, if defined at all. It’s a tricky sale to state honestly "I just want to be part of a worthwhile endeavor" and not sound like some kind of nut who needs to be watched carefully. Or as Robert Pirsig wrote;

   “ The real purpose of the scientific method is to make sure nature hasn’t misled you into thinking you know something you actually don’t known”