Working at a job is like being a member of an orchestra where you get hired because you play 2 or 3 instruments well enough to sound good. Maybe you play 1 or 2 really, really good and you are relied upon to play them a lot. Maybe others in the orchestra play the same ones you do, but not as well. They are back up. That's okay.

In this orchestra we're also expected to learn how to play certain rare phrases with expertise on instruments we either don't play often or haven't learned how to play yet. This is highly annoying because every time we're called on to play those complicated phrases on unfamiliar instruments, we have to stop everything else and relearn that instrument. While this would be great if we got to reuse those rare skills on a regular basis, it's debilitating because the need is so intermittent and so much time elapses between needs that we forget what we learned previously.

Fortunately, this usually only happens when there's a break in the music or when we're between sets. But it can happen even when we're in the middle of a complicated piece and that's highly annoying because then the piece carries on half-assed because we're only half way playing our instrument of expertise while re-learning or learning this new instrument or phrase at the same time. One of the joys of being an expert (or having a talent) is that you learn new things every time you play. When we're forced into the half-assed situation, we lose the opportunity to perfect our skill while performing old, rote routines.

Sometimes we're asked to improve skills in our area of expertise and that's good because we usually end up doing more of that as time goes by. It's hard to know what to work on during the breaks because priorities are not clear and the situation is constantly changing as the audience (or customers) rearranges, contracts and sometimes disappears.

It's also like being in a battle where you're asked to change from being a foot soldier to being a horseman at the drop of a hat. It's like, "Sure, I can do that but make up your mind will you?"

Maybe it's also like being a changeling and being asked to morph a lot. Like Odo, we never learn to perfect our faces but we get real good at being rats.

So the question is: Are we meant to be whole beings? I believe we are. I believe that once upon a time humans were less twisted up emotionally and spiritually. We had the chance to be whole, self-actualized creatures using our area of expertise to develop our souls. Now we live in a soulless, complex industrial/military/technological world where we're all just pragmatic parts. If you can't contribute to the machine, what's your purpose?

Obviously the purpose is not to run the machine. We die for starters. The machines get old and die, too. Social systems deteriorate. Enemies become friends. Materials get used up

Looking at what lasts, the order is spiritual because that's all we take with us when we go. There's a long-range plan here. There better be or I'm going to chuck it all for a beer.