On Fireflies and Dream Jobs
“Do not feel lonely, the entire universe is inside you.
Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.
― Rumi
Travel gives you a sense of scale.
Standing on a beach in Sri Lanka, I struggled to make out the fireflies from the stars.
I couldn’t see the difference between tiny creatures right in front of me and the luminous plasma lightyears away. The scale was all wrong. I felt the limits of my consciousness like the back of a dusty cupboard.
I was too focused on the tiny realities of life. As Rumi put it, I was acting so small.
This is the feeling that pervaded my time working in Fashion Magazines. I loved the creativity of the job but I felt that I was so focused on the small things – “20 must-have items for a new season wardrobe” – that I was missing the bigger picture.
Moments such as that night in Sri Lanka have instilled me with a celestial scope. Travel will do that to you. I learnt to collect moments not things – Untangled the idea of what I had from who I was. I realised that I could work less, spend less, have less and live more.
That’s why working for The New Betty has been somewhat of a dream job for me. It’s a women’s magazine with a socially conscious outlook. It sets out to prove that style can be eco-friendly; celebrates that we can transition from a convenience culture to a connection culture. Like the God of Small Things, these are earthly issues with a stellar vision. This is a magazine that separates the fireflies from the stars.
You can check out some of my work for the magazine here and here
This entry was posted by in Do What You Love, Featured, Wanderlust