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Marissa De Ruiter

ENG 390

Dr. Kilpatrick

Workaholic

Throughout my life I have lived a busy life and in a fast-paced society. The world would

describe me as a workaholic, and normally, I would boast in that description. Before reading

The Quotidian Mysteries, I would not have thought that being a workaholic would be a bad

thing. Yet, as I read Kathleen Norris’ words, I realized the motives behind my busyness and the

danger that comes with being a workaholic. I was not working a nine to five job for the sake of

repetition in a liturgical manner, but as a way to ignore the things in my life that needed work. I

was striving towards worldly happiness and what society told me was good and beautiful.

I was conditioned at a young age to see workaholism as a good thing. However, as I have

gotten older, I have realized the devastating impacts it has had on my life. I found too much joy

in working, and it became my sole purpose in life. Norris points out that the things we do

repeatedly shape us: “’whatever you do repeatedly,’ she writes, ‘has the power to shape you,

has the power to make you over into a different person…” (Norris 80). I felt that work gave me

a purpose and that it was my way to true happiness. I told myself I was too busy for God and

too busy for important relationships in my life. It was my escape towards a reality that would

never give me fulfillment. The more accomplished and busier I was, the more beautiful I felt.

However, what Norris said in The Quotidian Mysteries resonated with me: “Another day.

Another dollar. And life is what happens to you when you are busy doing something else.”

(Norris 18). Life was seemingly passing me by because I was preoccupied with trying to find
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fulfillment in work. I have not used work in a liturgical manner or seen it as a blessing in my life.

I have not used work in a way that could spiritually or mentally transform me. I have simply

used working as a way to feel fulfilled and to ignore the many things in my life that I do not

want to deal with. Work was my way of striving to a happy goal instead of being content with

what I had. I wanted to be beautifully busy like the people that I looked up to because they

seemed to have it all.

Growing up, I knew I never fit society’s mold for what beauty is and because of this, I

started to hide behind work. If I worked a lot and was accomplished, it did not matter if I fit into

the beauty standards of the world. My body and appearance were something that I was

ashamed of and did not want to think about. While working I never had to face the issues that

were prevalent in my life because of being busy. The more time I consumed in work the more

successful I became. As a young woman, this idea of success seemed appealing to me because

it was where I wanted to be in life. However, this contrasts greatly with what Norris has to say:

“We want life to have meaning, we want fulfilment, healing and even ecstasy, but the human

paradox is that we find these things by starting where we are, not where we wish we were.”

(Norris 12). I was striving for success and happiness in the what ifs instead of starting where I

was. Life as a workaholic made me feel beautiful, but due to my busyness, I took for granted

the blessings underneath my nose.

The joy and fulfillment that I have been searching for my entire life has been right in front

of me the whole time. Norris worded it beautifully saying, “but most of us, most of the time,

take for granted what is closet to us and is most universal.” (Norris 16). I had been caught up in

the world trying to find happiness in work, neglecting the blessings and moments that were
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right in front of me. I have neglected the little blessings in life as Norris puts it, “The daily round

of sunrise and sunset, for example, that marks the coming and passing of each day, is no longer

a symbol of human hopes, or of God’s majesty, but a grind,…” (Norris 17). The craziness is what

makes life beautiful, and I have found that there are precious moments tucked inside this life.

Norris says, “We must look for blessings to come from unlikely, everyday places-…” (Norris 12).

Looking for blessings in my everyday life has drawn me closer to God and has made me grateful

for even the smallest of blessings.

I do not want to look back at my life and not see the little moments. The little moments

that have changed my heart and changed my perspective. Work s a blessing, but the way that I

have used it was merely to distract myself from the pressures of life. I fell into the trap of

busyness that the world has offered me, and I tried to find beauty in it. However, the more I

tried to find beauty and success through work the more I realized that I was missing blessings

left and right. I was too caught up in my plan to see that God was trying to use me and bless me

right where I was. I did not have to meet His expectations or change myself. No, I simply had to

meet Him where I was.