Folds in the Portrait

In short: My boss would be nowhere this season without the work I’ve done, and I would be nowhere if he hadn’t hired me.  I’m an unemployable post-collegiate misfit, he’s an eccentric who leads a somewhat chaotic lifestyle to keep up with his want for material gain in a tough economy. 

The problem: he talks down to me and treats me like dirt, pays me late most of the time and only turns around to say thank you when the day is done (if he does at all). He is a vague communicator with a short temper, a weight problem, and by all accounts, a hoarding problem. All things considered, I still don’t think he’s a bad person, and I know it’s my karma to be working with him — our meeting was very serendipitous — however, I’m driven to the brink of a breakdown (of some sort) almost every day I work with him, for at least 1/4 of the day, and I have worked some DIFFICULT jobs.  I treat him with respect and only get defensive when I have no other option. While I can sometimes have a problem with aggressive authority figures, having a difficult boss has already taught me a lot about when to speak up, when to work, and how to work.  But I can sense his desire to break me down — coming from deep seated anger from his past that is being taken out on me. I view and treat him as an equal, but he views me as a workhorse.  My job description, in his words, “I pick things up; I put them down” but it’s a hell of a lot more than that.  I cook for him, I tolerate what most do not, and I have worked countless hours without pay to help him get a foot up.  I do this because I know he has a heart, somewhere… I just can’t seem to pin it down and create harmony when we work together.  It’s driving me mad and my capacity to forgive seems to be waning right now. I feel utterly without guidance and I have no leads to other jobs at the moment — I do not want to give up.  I know the rewards will be worth it, but things feel hopeless right now (P.S. This is coming from someone who is spiritually inclined, practicing mindfulness, patience, compassion, and acting on wisdom daily — I usually don’t hit a wall this hard)

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY WISDOM THEY COULD SHARE?