Standing Before an Ocean

The noticeable presence of time can be like a cage. I can fill an office position within a company that is metaphorically a void of time - the epitome of an existential crisis - and feel unhappy despite being very well paid for the position. It can be an entry-level office position, which through some basic level of functioning causes me to appear to “outperform” others in the same position, thereby leading to higher wages through no special exertions. In other environments, another entry-level position may not offer the same possibility to “outshine,” and may not even start at the same wage as the other aforementioned position; yet as tedious and meaningless as the new work may be, and as little as it may pay, it could cease to be a cage in terms of time. As I get older, I often feel as if I’m standing before an ocean, and it’s at once tranquil and exhausting. Life increasingly becomes less about finances and more about finding ways to pass time.