I find myself among the throng of the unemployed at the moment. A frustrating place to be, to be sure, but at the same time it does have possiblities that a good solid economy where jobs are easy to find doesn't afford.
An opportunity to do something different. Find a new road, and make a difference along the way.
I've been doing alot of research over the last month or so, along with looking for a job as well as thinking about going back to school with the expressed purpose of making myself qualified to get into a higher paying job than I've been in so far.
I've found some very interesting things. Statistics that show that by the time a student who is in a four year program reaches their third year what they have learned will be outdated and obsolete. We have arrived at the place where the exponential learning curve is rising faster than our ablity to be on time as it were.
In an effort to keep up, students are now studing things that don't exist yet. A further push in the direction of obsolesence. It would seem that this is the only way to keep up.
Along the way are all thoes people who are struggling to keep up with what is temporarily currant, along with thoes who are trying to muddle through the basics which are fast loosing their cohereance as being relative to much of anything.
The world is on a fast track. It's getting faster every day, every hour, every second. The ground rules are changing as fast as you change your mind. In some cases faster. Soon it may be that we will discover that we have pushed ourselves right out the door of having any kind of place in this fast paced world.
Understanding this has made a few things difficult. The first thing that is on the list is trying to decide what to go back to school for. I have no idea. What ever I decide on today could be completely usless by the time I get out of school.
Since I don't want to be saddled with a huge debt and no job prospects, my decision has to be made carefully and with wisdom so that I can find a job in my field when I get out.
It's become a crazy circle here lately. The idea of being thousands of dollars in debt and flipping hamburgers to pay it really doesn't seem like something I'm wanting to do.
So in light of that I've been researching future job trends. Thoes are based on currant trends which are subject to change faster than the fast lane on the freeway. This is the part that is so frustrating. Because everything is now becomming a state of change at high speed, there is no way to know exactly what is the right choice. Maybe I should make a big board and put all the possiblities on 3x5's, put on a blind fold and throw darts at it to decide.
What I do know is art. I've been doing art for over 45 years now. I've had three one woman shows. I've got art spread out over this country and in three foriegn countries. I want to make a living doing art. But that takes money, and since I'm not an heiress, well, that's why I am where I am. It's not fair. But then life isn't really ever fair most of the time.
But it's part of the experience. And that never gets outdated, or obsolete. Just like death and taxes.
Humanity is trying to do away with death through technology. I've not seen anyone try to do the same for doing away with taxes through technology yet.
So while I'm lost in this pile of information, I'll keep doing art. As long as I keep doing it, at least for me it won't loose it's importantance or value. As I explore it will grow and change. I will be able to keep up with the changes that take place in my art, and I won't make me obsolete to it's progress and purpose, which is a very good thing.
