Do I Still Have Something To Live For After This

How can you live with yourself after doing something horrible to others?

I work as a counsellor in a Maximum Security male prison. Before I worked here, whilst I have always been a humanist, I held some fairly extreme views about right and wrong, which I am constantly reassessing. A horrible thing is really a subjective term. For example, I think it's pretty horrible when somebody shouts at me. Whereas someone who has been brought up in a 'loud' household, due to size of family or temperament of relatives, this may be viewed as an effective way to get a point across.I can't talk first hand about living with a conscience after committing a crime, but i thought I would share with you an intriguing story from someone I worked with. This is a bit of an exceptional case, but one that is a real moral dilemma.A murderer I have worked with spent 14 years being physically and sexually abused by an alcoholic man (from 4-18). At 18 she gave birth to her 6th child that was taken away from her by the state and 3 days later, she stabbed her abuser to death. initially she was shocked, relieved and terrified. After 2 years in prison, after she realized how horrifically she had been treated, she felt safe for the first time in her life. This quickly brought on feelings of anger, regret and deep regret that she had taken someone's life.

If you had enough money to live on without working, would you still want to work?

Its interesting to note that most successful and happy people work. Wealthy people who do not work at anything tend to be more depressed and often deprived as well. There are lots of studies and books about why work is important. Even most billionaires continue to work, just not at regular jobs.They work at building wealth and power, while others work to give back like Bill and Malinda Gates are doing now. Many wealthy run charities or become politically engaged.There are also studies that indicate why men used to die sooner than women, when they retired and stopped having meaningful things to do they had no reason to live either. As more women start reaching retirement age some social scientists predict that they too will begin to die sooner after retirement if they do not find meaningful ways to define themselves other than by their careers.Many people who retire young also complain of being bored, often regretting the lack of work and purpose. This is also in part why many people retire and then go back to work after a few years even when they don’t need the money. Its because they need purpose and work often offers that.The real trick is finding work you love so much that you love doing it and it no longer is work to you. Figure out what you love, become and expert at it and people will often pay you for doing what you love. Or find work you can be passionate about and let that be fulfilling for you. Time passes quickly when your having fun, it holds true when your in the right job and doing something you love.