I’ve known a lot of people unhappy in their jobs. Recently, a friend of mine in academia has been telling me about her own slide into disillusionment (I almost wrote delusionment, ha-ha) then despair as she realized that her true gifts and calling are being wasted. She said at moments like these, when she wondered what she would do, she recalled an aunt’ s advice: “What do you always pick up in the bookstore? What always catches your eye? Pay attention because that probably has something to do with your vocation.”
I like that advice, especially since I’m not certain I’m very good at taking it. I tend to say “yes” to everything and then find myself hunched over my computer, in pain and miserable, because I’m working too hard. But after our conversation, I started thinking about the things that always capture my attention, and I realized that I seem to have a penchant for religious weirdo women.
For example, I’ve written about how Mexican-American gang members respect the Virgin of Guadalupe so much that they’ll refuse to tag a building if her picture is painted on it.
I was curious about the relationship between violence (the gang members) and a religious symbol (the Virgin Mary). Read More
