how vs why

in a theme that may recur, i've had some thoughts come up during my rereading of "through painted deserts". i'm reading a few pages at a time, usually on lunch breaks, which is allowing it to sink in more. this might be a good idea for those of us that try to breeze through books just to get them read.

today, don's been evaluating the how and why questions and which are more important. in the beginning of the book, don determines that we spend so much time asking the how questions and not enough time thinking about the why questions.

americans, especially, concern themselves with how to find a job, how to land a great wife, and how to create a perfect life. meanwhile, don is suggesting that we should be thinking about why we want a job, why do we need companionship, and why we do anything in general.

this is an interesting though considering my current position is in career counseling. we, as counselors, and many students all get caught up in the how of finding a job and determining a career without considering why we want to do the work we do in the first place. for our internship, the other interns and i were asked to write a career autobiography which takes a look at our family backgrounds, our childhood, and our life's progression to make the career decisions we've made. in the end, we have the opportunity to remember why we've made certain decisions along the way and how we've come to the conclusion of our career choice.

writing this career autobiography gave me the opportunity to re-evaluate these things and remember what my priorities in life are. while careers are important, the answer to why i live my life is far greater. as a Christian, i am called to serve Jesus Christ and His ministry on earth. as a musician and writer, i create because i enjoy creating and sharing my creations with others. as a friend, my role is to love people and to love being in their presence.

i could go on and on about why i'm here, but the fact is that i haven't quite figured it all out yet. all i know is what i know now and why i do the things i do in the moment.

what are the answers to your why questions?

why are you here? why are you pursuing your career? why do you surround yourself with the people you are with?