From The Story of Nostrils by Genichiro Yagyu.

I’m pretty sure the only way I’ll ever solve my chronic sinus problems is to learn Japanese & read this children’s book. I’m screwed.

Once, long ago a child asked me, "What’s the difference between a job and a vocation?"

In my own feeble way I attempted to answer in terms both convenient and digestible, "A job is work you have to do. A vocation is what you do because it’s what you must do"

Clearly too convenient and not at all digestible I was assessed with incredulous eyes and deemed insufficient. A diagnosis I could confirm with a mix of parental pride (for it would result in independent verifications and research) and parental shame for falling so woefully shy of the mark.

Later I would be confronted. "A vocation isn’t doing things because you ‘must’. I looked it up." Chin pointed upwards in defiance and victory. "The word comes from something spiritual… or something. So a vocation is spiritual."

So it is.