Eat Shit Sleep: Enlightenment Through Unemployment

This is the triumphant story of one man’s search for enlightenment through unemployment that culminated with this South By Southwest Interactive Festival presentation.
By Jordan Burchette

After being sold a boom-era bill of goods that promised purpose through 9-to-9 editorial employment, my years of responsible labor gradually gave way to workahol abuse and, finally, workaholism. By the time I realized I had a problem, I was being laid off amid the sparsest job market in four generations.

My resultant disillusionment touched off a wholly unspiritual journey that took me across China, Australia and Southeast Asia but, most importantly, my couch. It was there where I regained my sense of self, my sense of meaning and my sense of smell. (Unemployment isn’t so conducive to routine hygiene.) I had became a consumer again, making me a daywalker between those who produce content and those who read it. Being a shiftless non-contributor had realigned my perception.