Just Keep Looking

Did your mother ever tell you "just keep looking" or threaten "if I find it first..."? At my house, it's usually "let's clean up, and then we'll find it." There may be things that simply disappear off the face of the earth (or into the depths of the vacuum cleaner), but many things actually are findable. It just takes a little belief and a lot of persistence.
 
And thus went my day today. I needed a "beep" sound effect, and after some searching, I found one. I needed an transition effect I had never used before, and I explored assorted options until I found one. I needed to tell a story, and after typing enough different key phrases, I found my words and pictures.
 
We do a lot of searching in our lives. Whether it's finding a lost earring or sock in a chaotic apartment, the best school for our child, the right job (or the place that will hire us) or the best living space, we are always looking, sometimes to the point that we just want to give up, and settle for what's already found. What I learned a little today is that when you keep searching, you often do find exactly what you're looking for, and maybe even a little more. So, while it's not always possible to belabor our searches (we can always wear a different pair of earrings if we can't find the lost ones), it can be very satisfying to hang in long enough to find just the right thing.
 
There are times when I feel as though being on job searches has really primed me for looking in general. The job market doesn't make for easy finds, and success often requires a rare degree of persistence, and a huge amount of belief. But if we are willing to keep at it, sometimes the search pays off--in an interesting job, and perhaps in some self-discovery along the way.
 
So, wear different earrings or mismatched socks if you need to give up searching for the missing ones. As for everything else, perhaps Mom was right--just keep looking. You might find what you're looking for, and even a little bit more.