catapult magazine

I received this e-mail this summer and thought some folks in the *cino community might be interested in responding. Reponses of any length can be posted here and I’ll alert Gideon to this thread’s existence if it takes off.

kirstin

Some time ago a friend in a big city told me that some of the people in their church who have the hardest time, vocationally speaking, are 28-year olds working in big corporations. They are no longer novices, they are kind of set on a career, but they don’t really have any significant institutional power yet. They are caught in middle positions where they work very hard, but must conform very closely to insitutitonal expectations if they want to keep their jobs and build their careers. They have limited opportunities to offer leadership or take initiative … and their dreams of changing the world, of making a difference are turning a little stale.

That conversation inspired the idea of trying to pull together an article of encouragement and advice for 28-year olds who believe that they are called to live in the city, and who are doing so, but who are discouraged and confused by the challenges they and their cohort are experiencing—in corporate life, city administration or politics, education, film and other media, the arts, or whatever their area of work.

I’d be delighted if you could write me just one paragraph of such advice and/or encouragement, grounded in your own experience or in your observations of people in this kind of predicament. And if you have friends who would be able to write us a fine paragraph, please forward this request to them. We’ll pull together the responses we receive by September 21 into an article to be published online a week later, and perhaps in our December print issue. Comment will not be paying for contributions to this little print symposium, but we’d be eternally grateful to you …

This article will be part of a series on vocation with the theme "Finding our way to good work." If all goes well we will be publishing articles on vocations in the media and in politics, and on the beginnings of vocation – deciding on a major (in college). Megan Furman (formerly with the World Youth Alliance in New York, now working for Fox in Rome en route to further studies at Oxford) will write for us on "Eleanor Roosevelt, human rights and a vocation to public life."

Sincerely,

Gideon Strauss
Editor, Comment
http://wrf.ca/comment

I just wanted to chime in that this is indeed a real phenomenon. I have seen it and experienced it here in Chicago. And I’m sure it goes on elsewhere, not just in cities.

I’ve definitely seen it, too. I think Gideon is probably using the term ‘city’ in a broad sense—not just big cities, but any kind of municipality with which one can identify (as opposed to a ‘self-sufficient’ rural identity).

For the sake of conversation, here is the response that I submitted:

think three of the things that have been sustaining me through what has been called ‘the quarterlife crisis’ most significantly have been, taking Sabbath seriously, being rooted in a neighborhood and cultivating a diverse but kindred community that consists of people of all ages. I mean Sabbath in a broader sense of activity—finding the things that rejuvenate and delight us and doing them regularly—as well as in the particular sense of taking one day and setting it aside as a day of rest for the Lord. In this practice, I gain perspective on the significance (and insignificance) of my work in the Kingdom and simply remember how to be. As far as being rooted in a place, I always think of Steven Garber’s advice to choose a neighborhood first, and then choose a house. When we work, play, live and worship all in different places that require driving, our lives feel fragmented, we abuse the environment and we feel exhausted from trying to piece together a sense of complete community in our lives. Being rooted in neighborhood might require sacrifice—moving closer to church or work, for example, or even shopping at a less desirable grocery store—but it can also be richly rewarding to discover the gifts of a particular geographical location in people and places and practices. There’s much to surprise and inspire us when we look (and live) closely. And finally, belonging to a multi-generational community is not something I valued until it naturally occurred to me. Having younger friends has helped to sustain my enthusiasm for visionary change and attentiveness to play, while having older friends has contributed great wisdom and hope to that enthusiasm. I am constantly reminded both to dream big and to start small, both to speak criticism into the broken systems of the world and to grow tomatoes on my back porch in radical hope and protest.[/i:483f992380]

I don’t think I have any words of encouragement to share at this time, but I’d like to add that I’m very interested in hearing from anyone that does.

I think right now (27 years old), I’m too close to this scenario to have anything worth saying about it. Surely, though, there must be some older, more experienced people that frequent this site and can share some of their wisdom and encouragement? I’m sure that there are plenty of people that could use it.

I’ve written about this here on *cino already. I think the breakdown of my health was related to the stress of this late 20’s time of life. My physical symptoms forced me to evaluate my spiritual condition and I found that I was driven too much by the desire to see clear signs that my work was not in vain. I found comfort in Ecclesiastes and also in Thomas Merton’s "No Man is an Island", Antony Bloom’s "Beginning to Pray" and in spiritual direction. I was reminded that my anxiety was a sign that I didn’t trust God was working in my life. I was trying to do all the work myself. I distorted John Calvin’s teaching that God is an active God and forgot that God did not create us just to work all the time, but to rest and enjoy His creation. On the other side of this rest is meaningful work, where God steps in and does what I could never do. And I am more and more aware that my relationship with my creator and the creation, other people, etc. is as much good Kingdom work as building and reforming societal institutions or redeeming rock music or whatever I feel I must be busy doing.

That was how it was for me. But I think in general the late 20’s are maybe the new mid-life crisis. It might have something to do with more people going to college, getting married later, having so many choices about what kind of work they could be doing. It’s a time of evaluating one’s identity now, a feeling of not achieving what you think you should have by now. A very different feeling than a guy in mid-life who did achieve material possessions but isn’t sure if he’s satisfied with the life he’s built for himself.

my crisis was in my early twenties and i don’t think i had one since then. maybe the 28 year olds in crisis are mostly those who started their career at 22 and are realizing 6 years later that they don’t like how it’s turned out. i started my career as a grad student at 26 and am a happy camper now at 31, and hope that continues. i personally haven’t encountered the whole late-twenties crisis in any of my friends or acquaintances.

here is a link to the article that resulted from Gideon’s invitation to answer these questions.

Thanks, kirstin, for the link. And thanks Gideon Strauss for bringing all those wise words together in one place. I like the guy’s comment that we come out of college after studying all these great thinkers and imagine we should be doing work at that level by our mid 20’s.

I think the anguish of late 20’s and perhaps early 20’s in some cases has a lot to do with unfair expectations we have for ourselves. I am not always happy but I have given up on trying to be happy and am learning to be satisfied with this constant desire for something greater because it bears more fruit than cheap contentment. And it is normal. Mother Theresa’s recently published confessions of doubt and uncertainty are entirely consistent with the sentiments of great saintly people throughout history. The important thing is that their hearts were filled with the right desires. The struggle of the saints reminds us it’s ok to be frustrated with who we are in the light of Who we’d like to become. That’s what saints are good for, reminding us of what human beings can become in Christ.

Grant and Kirsten, thanks to both of you for your comments. You might not be much older than me, but you may be wiser and more experienced! The link was very good as well.

Perhaps one day I will write of my personal experience in this realm, but I don’t have the time today.

Grace and Peace,
Zanz

Just want to say that this has been a colossally helpful thread for me. Thanks!

I suppose I should also add why.

For me, Grant hit the nail on the head when he described this phenomenon as "a feeling of not achieving what you think you should have by now." I’m constantly considering and reconsidering the places that ambition and a drive to succeed have in my life. Of course, it is enough to be still and know that God is God, but what responsibilities come with that stillness? Can the uncomfortable feeling that one is not doing enough be a motivator? Can guilt be healthy?