Dear Mik and Mike: I am a grown man, but my major job is caring for a dolphin swim yoga guru’s three out of control children who make me very upset at times and I often lose my temper. It pays the bills and I get to live in a great place, eat good food and have a car to drive. My problem is that I think the guru is a fake. He has gotten fat and uses incorrect English. For example, he often says “youse guys” instead of “you guys”. I do not have the heart to correct him. He deals mostly with Japanese who do not know the difference. I need some help and advice on this situation. Do you think I should be looking for other types of work?
It sounds like the dolphin swim guru has the plum job! A guru is only as good as his devotees think he is. Can you be the guru of something else and start your own business? If you live in a place that has dolphins, I’m going to assume it’s somewhat tropical, and therefore it has a good amount of tourist business. How about setting yourself up as the Beach Meditation guru? Low overhead! Or the Kola Nut Hunting Expedition guru? I’m sure if you carefully examine what the tourists do you will discover something that will make their experience richer, and find your own niche. But if you call yourself an “au pair” you will get a better babysitting gig.
Before you decide to quit, what is the pay? Can you afford to quit? Do YOU have any talents that are more endearing or honest than this guy? My guess is probably not. To me it sounds like he has a good racket going, and in this economy you should stick with a good thing. Love those dolphins. Gangaji once told us all a story during satsang, a story about her teacher. He would work all day at a straight job to support his family and others (about 40 people) living in his house, then come home at night and give darshan spiritual stuff out to people. Keep the day job and do what you love after. What is it you love to do? That is the question!
