Thomas Moore deadpans about bedpans

Today, the Washington Post's free daily, Express, published Rachel Kaufman’s interview with Thomas Moore about A Life at Work. Here’s a sample of Moore's responses:

"EXPRESS: How can you know when you're making the right choice?
MOORE: You can't. There's more certainty when everyone is telling you you're doing the right thing, or when you are making a lot of money. Allow yourself time to experiment, to fail. You don't find your life work overnight, and you have to forgive yourself for failures along the way.

EXPRESS: So, if you love your job, is going to work every day a blast?
MOORE: It's important to love what you're doing, but that doesn't mean you enjoy every minute of it. Some people love what they're doing because of what it contributes to the world. They can put up with drudgery if they're making a difference. I've been visiting nurses, and they are telling me very intensely that they love their work because they're giving something to people around them. Yet you can't say, "I really love working with bedpans."

EXPRESS: Do you think people who aren't spiritual can relate to this book?
MOORE: There are obstacles in the way to getting to know what spirituality is about. It's usually presented so horribly. It's presented in church, where there are so many rules and condemnations. Or they get it from people who are simplistic and naive, in a New Age-y fashion. It's a wonder that anyone is drawn to it at all. Get some classic spiritual writing, like the Tao Te Ching. It's a spiritual point of view, but there's nothing to believe in. I think belief is way overdone."

Kaufman writes about A Life at Work, "... for a quiet, understated way to get inspiration to face the next Monday, it works."