You are not your Job, by Bill Ramsey
After 18 years at Notre Dame, I've quit my job teaching philosophy and accepted a position at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Despite being happy working at Notre Dame, I was generally miserable living in South Bend, Indiana. Much of my misery stemmed from the absurd amount of driving required to go climbing. I would clock over 800 roundtrip miles to climb at Kentucky's Red River Gorge, spending 14 hours behind the wheel each weekend. By contrast, in Las Vegas superb year-round limestone and sandstone climbing will never be more than 45 minutes away. It was a classic career versus lifestyle decision. As some of my Catholic friends advocate, I chose life.
Most people who know me understand the decision. Still, some have expressed surprise that I could make such a move. After all, it could be said that I was failing to properly advance my career by accepting a position at a less prestigious university. One friend's email put it this way:
"Who in their right mind would quit a job at ND to move to Vegas? It's not like you're going to continue to climb hard for many years to come... Are you really so obsessed with climbing that it's more important than your career?"
The message ignored certain factors to my decision, like what winters are like in northern Indiana--or what everything is like in northern Indiana. But the bottom line is yes, I really am so obsessed with climbing that, in certain respects, it is more important than my career. The fulfillment I get from teaching and writing is enormous. However, I determined long ago that my life without climbing--without the places, people, and experiences that climbing has introduced to me--would be unacceptably diminished. Whether I'm projecting a hard sport route, getting my ass kicked way off the deck on a wall, or taping bloody fingers for the 10th hour of a marathon session in the gym, climbing is a critical dimension of who I am, who I hang out with, and now, where I live.
When people find out I'm a philosopher, they often ask me about the meaning of life. Bad question. Meaning is not of life but in life. It's in the various endeavors we pursue and relationships we develop that, if we are lucky, prove to be deeply gratifying. The way we earn a living certainly can (and should) be a part of that. I'm happy to have found a career where it is. But it is only one part. That's why professionals who could be earning more money and stature living in Chicago, Los Angeles or New York are moving to towns like Bend, Telluride, Fayetteville and even Las Vegas. What the hell are they thinking? They are thinking about the other parts--the parts with fresh powder, Class V whitewater or miles of pocketed limestone... the parts that enrich their lives in ways no career advancement ever could.
I make no apologies for choosing a path where my career occasionally comes second, just so I can climb hard. Something, by the way, what will continue for many years to come.
I think there is a lot of pressure on me from all sides of my life sometimes trying to get me to stop taking time off, to be completely committed to my job, and not worry about when I am going to go climbing again. Climbing though, is pretty much what makes my days at work bearable. Knowing I am going to go climbing on the weekend, or after work is what keeps me going through the work week. It makes it so I can get up in the morning and go to work every day. This article is speaking directly to me, and people like me who live their lives for something more than a job... I live my life for life, and what I get from that... Money, while I have to have it for the necessary things to continue to live, is secondary. I don't think that will ever change.
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