I've always been a sucker for symbolism.
We as human beings always try to find a larger meaning in simple acts. It's part of our experience to believe that somehow, some way the universe is sending us symbols to help guide us in the right direction. We don't like to acknowledge the fact that everything we do is purely by chance. That goes against such time-honored romantic ideas of fate, destiny, and kismet. Because if we aren't destined to do great things then why should we be motivated? If for whatever reason, we aren't part of the universe's pre-determined plan, then why should we even bother?
This past week, I spent five days in Boston, Massachusetts for the first week of my new job training. The training was held in the financial district of Boston, an area rich in both history as well as modernity. As I walked off the nearly century-old subway system, I would pass by modern skyscrapers to the left and a meetinghouse used by patriots during the American Revolution on the right. Each day as I headed to the fifth floor of the office building I wondered if the fact that I was walking the same route that men like Paul Revere, John Adams, and John Hancock meant anything in the larger scheme of things.
In a word: Yes.
As someone who doesn't consider himself religious, it should be odd that I buy into things like symbolism. It doesn't make sense. I know that the universe is not particularly interested in my success or well-being. I could live to be one hundred years old or I could pass away tomorrow. In the grand scheme of things, I am merely a series of molecules formed together in one of seven billion homo sapiens on this planet. I don't believe in any form of destiny whether it relates to being destined for greatness, finding your one true soul mate, or any major life event having been due to fate. I believe that each and every one of us is here on a whim, and what we do with our lives, who we find, and where we end up are all products of chance.
And yet, there is something that is just so darn appealing about symbolism.
This past week as I began my new career, I was unsure of myself and what I had decided to do. Believe it or not, it's not highly recommended to leave your chosen career after four years of undergraduate study, two years of graduate study, and seven years in the field. It's also not recommended to then move up your belongings into a pod, move five hundred miles north and live in a brand new city. And most of all, it's not recommended to give up a job with good benefits and a state retirement plan to start at a brand new job for half the salary, no benefits to start, and no health plan.
So I needed something to let me know I was making the right decision. Something to reaffirm what for me was a difficult and life-altering decision. The truth of the matter is, my training could have very well been in a variety of cities across the country, but it just so happened to be in Boston. The training could have been located anywhere in the city, but it just happened to be in an historic area of the city right off of the Freedom Trail that highlighted important events in our country's founding. The job could have been dealing with a variety of issues but it just so happened to be a job to help build a movement for progressive change in this country. For someone such as myself looking for something to reaffirm my decision, this symbolic location seemed to be just what I needed.
And so, over the course of the past week I've learned about my new job. I've learned about entering a field where I am with like-minded people fighting on behalf of the good of the people. Discussing political issues over drinks and on the metro. Being with people who read the newspaper online and while waiting in line at Starbucks. Realizing that there are a variety of simple solutions to our world's problems that aren't being put into action for a number of reasons. Planning for the upcoming year and putting the greater good of the people about our individual wants and needs. Getting angry and scared and frustrated about where our country is and having each and every one of us caring passionately about leaving the world a better place.
I won't pretend that the minds that met on the fifth floor of that building in any way rivaled Revere, Adams, and Hancock. However, knowing that I sat and discussed important political issues of the day on the same street as these men was in a word, inspiring. Knowing that I now have the ability to make a difference like these early patriots is something that left a strong impression on me. I'm only one week into this new career and yet I realized that I have found a place where my passions and my career have a chance to merge into one. All of a sudden I'm not viewed as "odd" because I watch Real Time with Bill Maher and blog on a Friday night. I can have discussions where my political views are apparent among my co-workers and for the first time in my career, I won't have to worry about repercussions about having these views. Knowing these things helps give me hope that maybe, when all is said and done, I may have made the right decision after all.
All thanks to a few old buildings that just happened to be on the same street as my job training.
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