This is a really thoughtful, well written post. What you have actually done is opted to voluntarily simplify your life. I think there are ways to respectfully convey the desire to cut back or bail out of unnecessary commitments without coming across as flaky or arrogant, so it’s not a given that you will be perceived that way by others when you are clear in exercising your priorities. Taking the time to connect with ourselves in order to start identifying our passions and what we really value means being committed to carving out the time to just be with ourselves–and that in turn means saying no to demands on our time that don’t support the process of identifying then taking the steps to move toward living on purpose.

Ultimately, when we find our passion and purpose–whether through paid work or devoting unpaid time and energy to a cause we strongly support–we become much happier in ourselves, we are able to live from a place of integrity, our productivity and energy levels are way higher than in the past, and we are in a MUCH better place to work toward effectively bringing about the positive changes in the world that we wish to see. While I’m borrowing Gandhi’s expressions, I’ll add that another of his mottoes was “My life is my message”. Once he discovered his passion and purpose, he didn’t just talk about it, he lived it–and was willing to go to jail for it on many occasions. Obviously, I’m not suggesting we should all go to such extremes to figure out how to make our life’s work align with our passion and purpose, but it is illustrative of Gandhi’s commitment to his “Project Liberation” — liberating India from the British empire.

I’m just in the beginning stages of figuring out how to incorporate my passion and purpose into my life’s work. Being in a work place that has gradually, over the last couple of years, shifted its culture to accept and encourage behaviors that are so toxic to my spirit that it has literally made me physically ill has been the final push from the Universe to get me realigned with the kind of activities that energize me rather than drain me. Thanks for sharing your story and I wish you great success in achieving Project Liberation.

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TheAndySan
http://www.theandysan.com

I can volunteer (for what?), I can come up with a blog (about what?) and claw/schmooze my way to the equivalent of middle management (#120001 on the Technorati list, etc) but I have no hunger for that. I have no hunger for anything so I just keep milling gold for The Man.

I’m not asking anyone to answer these questions for me, and I don’t expect that I have to be happy and funded all of the time. If I could find something that meant more to me than I do I would dedicate my life to it. It should be easy, since I don’t mean all that much to myself, but nothing seems to mean much of anything, not really. Everything is situational and contingent and doesn’t last much past the wrap party.

I’m sure this has been said before and pardon me if you already have but… Ever thought about writing a book?