Why Work?

The Monks of New Skete say that although many must work in order to survive, all of us must work in order to be whole.

With nothing to do all day, it is impossible to develop as a human being. Work turns the hours of the day into a lesson, an opportunity to see where we are stuck. It's all well and good to sit still and be spiritual, but without the challenge of interacting with others we will never be able to develop qualities of kindness or forgiveness. And without the cacophony of demands that the world batters us with, we will never learn how to be of service while safeguarding the one being whose wellbeing we most directly affect: ourselves.

This morning on the bus, Matt the young engineer I sometimes talk to asked, "Am I immature for being unmotivated and disliking my job? Seems like a real adult should work because they are being paid, regardless of whether they care about the work." All I could answer was, "When you believe in what you do, it's a lot easier to be enthusiastic."

I don't know if "enthusiastic" is even the word. If I set up work as something separate from my life, I get exhausted. But if it's continuous with everything else, there's no problem.

I have it easy. Spending time with kids and helping them learn is just what I'm doing with my time. Those hours would come and go anyway, and this is the most rewarding way I've found to pass them. In spite of all this, I do dread long days, and I do get nervous when I have to learn something new, then turn around and teach it.

Being absorbed in work is a lot more difficult when it's something you don't care for, or don't think is of benefit to the world. When ideas get in the way. If you are busy hating the dirty dishes, or you're angry the bus is late, or you're offended by your coworker, the whole undertaking is exhausting. So there needs to be some surrender to the process, to spending time in whatever way.

Another thing I haven't quite figured out is the way in which "surrender to the process" includes establishing boundaries. Negative ideas make life difficult; but wholehearted absorption is almost impossible once you are feeling jerked around. I do have some influence over what my day and week look like; I can reject clients or decline opportunities to sub; I can even change my mind about something when circumstances change. Leading up to these actions, I feel conflicted. I know that, if anything, I err on the side of overaccomodation. Having carefully concluded that a particular action is a completely reasonable reflection of my needs, I act. And afterwards, I know it's been the right thing. Only in retrospect do I know the action was right, because the seamlessness returns, the constriction is relieved, and life is bigger and brighter than before.