The blessing of work

My office at Izchaluma

Despite spending a few days here in a relaxing hostel in Ecuador, I find that I also need to spend some time each day “working.” So I am editing a collection of posts I’ve written on my blog over the past 15 years or so. Maybe I will call it Whiffs from the Blue Skunk. It’s a personal project with no expectation of it ever being commercially published. But who cares?

Anyway, I ran across the post below and it seemed to help me answer the question of why so many companies are finding it hard to find employees. The economists seem to think it is all about salaries, but I am not so sure…

The blessing of work

Ora et labora - Pray and labor. St. Benedict

I'm not sure why "work" has such a negative connotation in U.S. society. Perhaps it is a residual sentiment from times when most "work" was physical - dirty, dangerous, and exhausting.

I’ve thought a great deal about "work" and its place in my life - how it has defined me, shaped me, and rewarded me. While it has not always been true all the time about every job I've had, I have generally been blessed with work that gives me pleasure and my life meaning. My son-in-law's sermon one Sunday talked about St. Benedict and his observation that work and prayer can be one and the same. And that "work" is not the same as employment. I would agree.

When unemployment rates are too high, when job opportunities seem to be lacking, and when people seem to be unable to advance at their place of work or in their careers, the problem is too often framed as simply economic. And while it's absolutely true that everyone ought to be able to put a roof over one's head, purchase healthy food for one's table and give one's family decent medical care and an education, we focus far too much on the monetary rewards of work rather than the psychological rewards. The real tragedy of a lack of work is when people can't find joy in life and form a positive view of themselves. It's not really about taxpayers needing to fund welfare or unemployment payments. People without meaningful work are living a diminished life.

Everyone should take pleasure and find meaning in their work. 

And this includes students and their school "work." Whether in class or out of class, any task a teacher gives needs to be given thoughtfully, mindful of how its successful completion defines, shapes, and rewards the student's sense of him or herself. Why should students not look forward to school work as much as many adults look forward to going to work?

It's the challenges, the problems, the obstacles, and the work that make life pleasurable. Think about it as your work day begins.