We don’t need to use what we make

For many years, I was a touring musician, performing live on stage every week. But I didn’t like attending concerts. I liked making music more than listening to music. I felt I must be in the wrong line of work, creating something that I don’t consume. I never reconciled this feeling.

Since then, I’ve met a:

• vegetarian cattle farmer
• masseuse that doesn’t enjoy receiving massage
• elevator builder that lives in a single-story house
• heart surgeon that has never needed heart surgery

We sweat salt water. We cry salt water. But we don’t drink salt water.

The comparisons are a nice reminder that we don’t have to take in what we put out.

I now feel reconciled that this is not a problem or a sign that we’re in the wrong line of work.