abolishing work

summer sabbatical

The End of a Self-Made Sabbatical: Reflection and How-To

On a Sunday afternoon I was in a dark, cozy, cavernous room in Portland’s outer southeast Lents neighborhood putting acupuncture needles in a patient. He was jovial despite chronic pain from a bad accident years ago. “How’s your weekend?” he asked, and then hastiliy added, “Oh, I guess you don’t really get a weekend since you’re working today.” He looked at me apologetically, as if I might be offended, having been reminded that I was working on what is most people’s day of rest. “Well, I’ve had a six-month weekend,” I smiled back. Continue reading →

On Doing Good Work and Avoiding Martyrdom in a Capitalist Society

It has been a week and a half since I got back from the East Coast and started the next phase of my sabbatical. The trip east was more vacation than anything, all about re-kindling creativity and zeal for life. It got me out of my comfort zone and into the risky land of new ideas. It takes a certain amount of courage to re-evaluate one’s life and had I stayed in Portland I think I would have been in danger of falling into a state of paralysis, not knowing what to do with myself or how to move forward. So, I jumped into something completely different to reboot my outlook on life. But, for me traveling becomes weary after awhile and now I’m ready to refocus and find clarity amongst the chaos. Continue reading →