Krishna on Work
To action alone thou hast a right, never to all its fruits, let not the fruits of action be thy motive neither let there be in thee any attachment to inaction.
Standing firm in yoga, do thy work O Winner of wealth, (Arjuna), abandoning attachment, with an even mind in success and failure, for evenness of mind is called yoga.
Jnaneshvari Chapter 2 Shloka XLVII Shloka XLVIII
I find a lot of intrinsic value in meaningful work. That’s why it’s meaningful. There the greatest reward comes right from the doing. It’s like spending time in the beauty of nature. It’s immersive. While creating meaning and value in life has been hard work at times, being able to work within the abundance of the natural world has helped the work feel a lot more like having fun.
I was reminded of this when we worked at the Rudolf Steiner school. The job was cleaning up a mess and restoring a piece of their lawn. I was focused on my task when from behind I heard a little voice ask, “What are you doing?” She was standing with her friend. I told her we were fixing the lawn because of this and that. They giggled. I kept working, raking out the soil we had added. I turned to them and smiling asked, “What are you doing?” “Playing” was all the girl said. And they giggled and ran away.
I laughed as I raked soil, and as I threw grass seed, and as I shook out straw. I laughed because despite all our apparent differences I felt a lot like those little girls, playing outside with friends. The beauty of nature is that it doesn’t over think. It simply is.My job pays me before I get my paycheck because I’m outside, working in an abundance of well being. And the joy of being is my most valued pursuit. My job is helping people step out of their doors and into a space with meaning. The value of which seems abundantly clear, to me.
peace be with you