Throughout history, humankind has gone through many periods of rebirth. One of the most notorious examples is the 15th century Italian Renaissance, coming after the well-named “Dark Ages”. In Western Europe, the Middle Ages (as this period is correctly named) was a time of cultural and economic deterioration due to the fall of the Roman Empire. The continent entered a period of intellectual darkness, which eventually led into the Renaissance movement.
These days, it is quite common for individuals to work in two or three different fields during their careers. Could we qualify these as re-births? Could these be our own individual “Dark Ages” that then become our Renaissance?
I believe that the answer is “yes”. In our lives, may it be during personal or professional times, we all go through “Dark Ages”. And as a phoenix emerging from the ashes, we can rise up as we build on our experience. There can be numerous reasons why people decide to change careers. In our very fast paced society, people seem to experience their own “Dark Ages” as, for example, burn out sufferers. A burn out is a condition (not a recognized disorder), and is often referred to as the illness of the 21st century. Today, everything moves too fast, we are too accessible, solicited, pressured by others and stressed. Emerging from a burn out by overcoming its physical and mental symptoms is, in itself, a rebirth. It is therefore no surprise that individuals who have experienced a burn out will go on to embark on different career paths. One might say: “once burned, twice shy”. After the dark period following a burn out, individuals tend to reinvent themselves in their pursuit of peace of mind and a bit of happiness. Just like after a Dark Age, we need our Renaissance.
We are quite fortunate that in our Western societies, we have good medical support. We are also offered numerous schooling, retraining, and work tools to assist us with our renaissance. Once we have regained our self-confidence we can utilize these tools to “move forward”. Most importantly, now equipped with renewed energy, foresight and skills, we can improve our employability. Let’s keep in mind that this does mean a bigger personal investment and more work in our very busy lives, but please…remember that a Renaissance also means taking time to “smell the flowers” and enjoying the simple things in life!
Photo and article by Kaiya Fell.
