What kind of work makes us proud?
Dear friend,
There are so many different
kinds of work in the world.
More than we can even imagine!
It is simply amazing
how many different directions
we can go in
when we give ourselves
the freedom.
We have categories
we put different kinds of work into:
manual, intellectual, technical, clerical,
service, professional, artistic, spiritual…
Some questions about work
But let’s ask ourselves some questions:
Do we consider
any of these kinds of work
superior to the others?
Do we consider the people
who do certain kinds of work
to be superior?
What kind of work
did our parents teach us
was the best kind of work?
Were we expected
from the day we were born
to grow up and do that kind of work
to make them proud of us?
Did we ever say to ourselves:
That’s all well and good,
but what kind of work
makes me feel proud?
A young man’s hands
A few years ago
I spent two summers
in a beautiful little campground
on the shores of Lake Erie.
I was living in a fifth wheel
and other people had various campers.
The camp site was at the top
of a cliff overlooking the beach.
One day I was walking
along the road by the cliff.
I saw a young man constructing stairs
to go down the steep face of the cliff
to the beach.
It was one heck of a job.
The cliff was maybe 40 or 50 feet
straight down.
But those stairs he was building
were looking beautiful!
After a while
he came up to the top of the cliff
where I was.
I went over to him
to say hello
and to thank him for his work.
I put out my hand to shake his.
He hesitated.
He looked down at his hands,
then said,
rather ashamedly,
“They’re dirty.”
I looked him in the eyes
and said: “That’s a badge of honor.”
He stood there stunned.
Didn’t move.
Looked at me as if he was in shock.
Finally he said softly:
“God, I wish my parents had said that to me.”
What work will make us proud?
All honest work is worthy.
But it is the work we do with love
that will make us proud.
The work we do with love
will make our heart sing.
And we must never let anyone spoil our joy.
Our work can’t be dictated by other people.
We can’t allow ourselves to be channeled
into a particular kind of work
to fulfill somebody else’s dream
or to make them look good.
We need to move in our own free direction.
We need to fulfill our own personal dream for ourselves.
What work do you love to do?
You may love to work with your hands
or with your ideas
You may love to work with children
or with gardens
with trees
or with rivers
You may love to build buildings
create food
program computers
or drive trucks
You may love to preach
or to paint
to dance
or debate!
Take things apart
or put them together
Lead
follow
raise chickens
raise hell
or whatever…
But no matter WHAT you do
don’t ever let ANYBODY tell you
that one kind of work is superior to another
and that you will be superior to others if you do it.
Anyone who tries to tell you that
will never seek to understand you.
They will not value you and your dreams.
And they will never understand
why you are so proud of yourself
as you do, with love,
the work that gives you joy.
Blessings,
Dr. Hall
Question:
Is there a kind of work you would like to try?
I know someone who turns fallen trees into practical art. He accepts its gift of life and gives it another one. We should all be so lucky as a fallen tree.
Its grain flows where it has to, in its struggle for survival, and its lifeblood has a distinctive aroma in which most H. sapiens find pleasure.
In his hand, with the help of machinery and creativity, trials and errors, and tried and true experience, he makes a family dinner table, or a multi-generational dresser that will move forward in time after he doesn't.
He doesn't sell it. He puts himself into it and in turn, loses himself. Losing oneself into art and work is its own reward that money can not hope to replace.
Losing oneself in work is a singular mystery of our consciousness that makes us feel beyond our grasp. This work is sublime.
One summer when I was 16, I was flown from L.A. to Detroit, then driven up to the Canadian side of Lake Ontario, onto an island where my uncle had a summer home, to celebrate my cousin's Bar Mitzvah. I was give the keys to my uncle's Cadilac and drove my cousin all around the island. it was my first experience of real luxery and I was enjoying it. One afternoon, my uncle told me that he'd pay for my college education anywhere in the world if I wanted to become a dr. or a lawyer. Then he asked me what I wanted to do? I told him that I wanted to be a musician, He said, "Musicians are bums." End of conversation. I spent the next 60 yrs. as a musician. My father told me at age 18, that since I couldn't do anything, I should make a career out the army. Same responce, same result. The late UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden, said; "Failing to prepare, is preparing to fail." I prepared, I succeeded. One of the biggest tradjedies is not following your dreams. As always, you inspire me to remember how I got here. Thank you.