The Beginning

The Beginning:

This morning, I was asked by one of the new baristas at my favorite coffee shop what I was doing today and how my day was going to go. I find this a great interaction with another human being to start my day. It’s one thing to set an intention for oneself, quite another to explain it verbally to another person.

It is an exercise I do daily with my teenager while I drive him to school (there is no transportation available for him besides me). Sometimes answers from him are more detailed than others, but I try to get something out of him daily. 😉

In this interaction with this young woman, she was inquisitive about my job, and I found myself talking about the early days of my career when I discovered I wanted to be a massage therapist. I haven’t answered these questions for a long time, and never in the context of “How is your day going to go?”

Barista: “How is your day going to go?”

Me: “Wonderful! I love my job. Its just getting started.”

Barista: “What do you do?”

Me: “I’m a massage therapist and an instructor.”

Barista: “Really, do you like that job?”

Me: “I do, I’ve done it for a long time.”

Barista: “How long have you been a massage therapist?”

Me: “Well, let’s see…about 25 years or so.”

Barista: “Wow! You must have started right out of high school!”

Me: (Paused for a moment to consider that….)

“Well, yes, actually I did.”

Barista: “Where did you first work?”

Me: “I worked for the Mt. Shasta Herbal Co. in California. I started by doing massage and bodywork under supervision of a massage therapist for the owner who was paraplegic, and he was also training me in the herbal lab. It was a great job and internship.”

Barista: “That’s really cool! Can I look up the Mt Shasta Herbal Co?

Me: “Sadly, no it doesn’t exist anymore, and the owner passed away.”

Barista: “Oh! That’s sad. But you’ve always done massage?”

Me: “I’ve done other jobs that I enjoyed, and I took time off to get my master’s degree which helps me run my own business now. But this is what I love.”

Barista: “That’s so cool. Have a great day!”

As I set my intention for today, I’m thinking about the early days of my career, putting myself in front of masters in the profession, begging to be instructed, competing in a pool of people who wanted the same instruction or job I wanted. Discovering why I wanted to do this job and finding the motivation to keep learning and discovering what drives me.

I can always remember touching people to make them feel better, and today I’m remembering the first day I realized this was going to be a lifelong journey for me.

Part of that journey is imparting my experience to others, and as my conversation unfolded with this young lady, I realized that she is starting a journey too, beginning with asking questions to older women who are starting their day doing a job that they love.

As we start our days, our ideas, our journeys I think it is important to look back at the why of what we do. What is motivating us? What drives us? What do we ultimately want. Holding that vision has been something that sustains my drive to learn, teach, and deliver pain relief and relaxation to people who are on my table.

Have a great day!