Finding Evidence of Career Anxiety in Marlowe's Faustus

Anyone anxious about making a career change can learn a lot by reading Christopher Marlowe's The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. Marlowe himself was probably wondering what to do with the rest of his life when he wrote the drama. (Please see some interesting facts and theories about his life and death at the following website: http://www.marlowe-society.org.)/ He was an accomplished scholar, having been educated at Cambridge, but he evidently did not desire the life of a scholar, holed up in some dusty study. Preferring to cast his lot with other writers of his time (late 1500s), including Thomas Kyd, John Lyly, Thomas Dekker, and other notables, Marlowe hoped to make his fortune with the emerging entertainment industry.

That industry was beginning to reach a broad audience through production of elaborate dramas on stage, and the time was ripe for well-educated, ambitious young writers like Marlowe to break free from the mold society had cast for them. Marlowe and several of his colleagues were, after all, sons of tradesmen and not expected to rise above their stations in life. Previous successful writers were almost without exception members of the nobility. A good education provided Marlowe and others like him the opportunity and the skills necessary to make their marks on the literary world. Still, they had to hone those skills in the religiously/politically censored, yet rough-and-tumble world of commercial theater. They could not expect to receive instant acclaim and fame, let alone fortune, and many of them did not live to reap the benefits of their work. Often, the satisfaction of knowing that they had written something that would cause a critic or colleague to learn something about himself provided the only reward for months or even years of research and labor on some drama. We can be thankful for that remarkable work ethic and love of irony.

Doctor Faustus allows what could be considered a tongue-in-cheek peek at the damage that self-doubt, fostered by others' self-righteous opinions, can wreak on someone's life. Faustus is anything but politically correct in his quest "To sound the depth of that [he would] profess" (1.1.2). He chooses to align himself with the devil rather than God because he fears the punishment of having his flesh torn apart (sarcasm by his peers??). Perhaps Marlowe was similarly fearful of having his career choice sneered at by people who knew him well. I believe that he wrote a remarkable piece of literature aimed directly at making his naysayers at least uncomfortable, if not remorseful, about the havoc their opinions can create in a person's psyche.

Getting Rid of Mold in Your Mood

Sarah has found that using essential oils in her practice not only helps her clients relax but also brings them back for more massage sessions. My husband and I have tried many different brands but have found Young Living Essential Oils (YLEO) to be consistently superior in quality, purity, and therefore value. That brand can be a bit pricey, but at least you can be sure that you are getting what you pay for and not a cheap substitute for the real thing. Not all essential oils are "created" equal, and some of them can even be harmful because the plants from which they are derived may be contaminated with pesticides or because the oils have not been processed or stored appropriately. Young Living brand ensures strict adherence to rigorous industry standards.

Some friends of ours, Ed and Jacqui Close, first introduced us to Young Living Essential Oils, and though we may have strayed away and tried other kinds, we always return to using YLEO. Ed (an accomplished environmental scientist) has even conducted research on using a proprietary blend to combat mold contamination in buildings and has published his findings. More information on his study can be found at http://moldrx4u.com/optimoils/.

As I said earlier, Sarah integrates YLEO into her therapy, and she has achieved amazing results with her clients. Many of them experience elevated mood, relief of sinus congestion, and even some pain cessation after her massage with the oils. I know that I will be using the oils when I begin my own therapeutic massage practice.

Midlife Is Not a Crisis

Entering midlife for me has been a perilous journey so far, full of twists and turns, but I keep in mind that it is only one more stage in life and not my final destination. In about two months, I will embark on a new voyage, training to be a licensed massage therapist. In December I fulfilled one of my dreams: satisfying the requirements for a Bachelor's degree in English. Now, I will seek the fulfillment of another one: learning more about--and ultimately being able to teach others--the benefits of massage.


Am I crazy at 47 years of age to undertake a new career like massage therapy? Some of my relatives and friends probably think so, but I have never been one to retreat from a course of action just because someone whispers "She must be nuts to think she can do that!" I intend to prove my naysayers wrong. After all, two of the most important people in my life encourage me to go for it: my husband and my daughter, who is a massage therapist herself.

My daughter Sarah inspires me everyday to want to help people with physical as well as emotional pain. She has realized after working in the field for three years that the physical pain we feel is often the result of repressing deep emotional wounds. Massage therapy can often help bring about an emotional release as it works out the "knots" in muscle tissue. We all have knots (or nots) in our head that prevent us from reaching our full potential as human beings. I'm learning to untangle my own knots so I can help others do the same.