I’m not a painter, I’m not a hockey player.

So many people build their whole identities around their occupation. It always seems to irk me in some capacity. I have met people with incredible souls, who say they are accountants; when you ask them what they do. How is that possible? America forces you to identify with what your job is, until they have squeezed your soul out to increase shareholder profits. Unfortunate, but you can’t live without paying rent.

Last month I moved to Spain to play hockey. That sentence alone may make you think I’m a madman. But it makes good sense to me. The Spanish way of life is far superior. Money is always an afterthought here, which is refreshing. Family before everything and work just enough to get by. Maybe thats an oversimplification but I doubt I will be able to capture the endlessly beauty of the Spanish ways of life with my Neanderthalic writings. America lost this concept somewhere along the way.

I guess what Im trying to say, is theres so much more soul than just an occupation. When someone asks what you do, don’t say what you do to pay the bills, say what keeps you up at night dreaming. And as I sit in this Spanish cafe, I’m not a painter, or a hockey player or an idiot. I’m lucky to be a soul having a human experience.

“To burn with desire and keep quiet about it is the greatest punishment we can bring on ourselves.”

-Federico García Lorca