“Midlife is when you reach the top of the ladder and find that it was against the wrong wall.” Joseph Campbell

If this quote rings at all true, and if this “wall” happens to refer to your work life, perhaps it’s time for some exploration, clarification, and/or action.

Whenever I go to a restaurant, I’m the last person to order. Okay, I’ve narrowed it down to eggs or pancakes for breakfast. Then I start thinking, Hmm. I had eggs last time I was here…But I had cake last NIGHT. I need to watch my cholesterol…But the syrup here is the best…I order the eggs.

A minute later I’m second guessing myself: wait, the pancakes…Why am I making such a big deal of this? It’s just breakfast!!

Meditation teachers use the analogy of the mountain to describe the experience of solidity and groundedness we strive for in meditation. To help with this, we go on retreats removed from civilization to reduce distractions. Well, in the city, there aren’t many mountains to remind us of our sturdiness.

One day at work after teaching a mindfulness class I was heating my lunch in the microwave as usual. I was hungry, had a million things to do and wanted to quickly get out of the staff lounge. I set the microwave timer, hit the start button but impatiently stopped the microwave a few seconds before the time elapsed.