Man of Leisure? Are You Talking to ME?

This photo of Shields Negril Villas is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Who am I really? Man of Omnivorous Appetites, whose insatiable curiosity is hard to pin down? Man of Promethean Labors, who would have little fun if not for the interruptions of friends? In reality, I work much harder than I play. When I have fun, it is usually by accident, and I find myself so amazed by the unplanned exhilaration.

Maybe I should get out more often. Life is exhilarating. Still, I am not ready for the Man of Leisure label.

I love my work as an active Army operations research analyst. Management science and data driven decisions are how we understand and shape the world in which we live. At the same time, I believe arts and letters are how we come to understand our fellow humans on a personal level. Maybe it’s just my architecture degree talking, but both art and science are needed in equal measure for a high quality of life. Or maybe it’s my innate desire for a balance between art and science that drew me to architecture, and then systems management, in the first place?

Now that I am neck-deep in my philosophy degree, I realize that there is more to life than can be understood or shared. There is also a need for a third component: mystery. A high quality of life leaves room for spiritual things and the unknown-unknowables. Everything is not meant to be understood by science or expressed though art. Some things, like the spark of life, like what happens to us after death, are better imagined and sought after. Or maybe that’s just my brush with cancer talking.

Man of Leisure, indeed! Maybe someday…