Why Do We Do This (AKA Life Should Be More Simple)

Today, after crying my way home b/c i'm so exhausted yet have tons of work to do, i received an IM from one of my fave peeps saying, and i quote, " I hate my life...cause all i do is work and its a bit out of control." I hate my life b/c all i do is work....

when i left my past life (ie - quit my job for a year of bum-dom) it was b/c i had had enough. My life was void of energy, excitement, hope - everyday, i sat in my cubicle and thought about how badly I wanted to smash my computer against the wall. I'd brood and make references to Azkaban and dementors...it was lovely. And just when it got to the point where I couldn't fathom walking into the warehouse of despair one more time, I quit. It was time to put myself first - i thought in that year I'd discover all sorts of talents and opportunities and life would change. And then a year later i realized i wasn't anywhere closer to finding out what made me tick, i was running out of money, and yes, i missed the craziness of advertising. So I dusted off my resume, made myself sound smarter than I probably am and got a job. And today, (3 weeks into said job, mind you), I left the office after putting in a solid 11 hours knowing I was just going home to work a good 2-3 hours more and it sucked. It sucked b/c it took me right back to Life = Work = Life mentality. Why does work have to be never-ending? Why does anyone feel it's ok to expect non-stop mobility and scrambling for what? To sell something? Why aren't we just as consumed w/ living our life as we are w/ doing our work? Sigh - a lot of whys are whirling around my head BUT truth be told, i still have work to do so back to the grind I go.