There is, and always has been, a lot of pain around the subject of work. We have too little, or too much, or the wrong kind, or we are not paid or thanked enough for what we do. People get in our way, or they don’t help when we need them. We are blocked from doing what we want, or we do what we want but nobody cares, and we live a shabby life getting by with too little money. We were born too early, or born too late, somebody stole our idea or moved our cheese. And so on, and so on. It’s enough to make a person wonder if there isn’t a foundation of learning and way of discipline that will help us get centered.
There is.
I created this site as a place to gather the best wisdom I have found on the subject of work so that you can mine it for insights that are helpful to you and so that I can review it when I need to. None of the material you find here is my own creation. I am in awe of the quality of material the great teachers have provided to us. It is my hope that you will discover something that is new to you and thereby improve your relationship with work.
The most central idea here is that we benefit from choosing the kind of work that polishes our talent. We can recognize our talent by paying close attention to our joy, desire, and our fondness for certain kinds of movements and actions. What would we rather be doing than what we are doing right now? That tug of desire marks the entrance to a new world. If you are not already satisfied and delighted with your work, perhaps something you find here will move you down that path.
This web site is related to my essay on truth. Meaningful work is inextricably related to truth, and vice versa. Like the truth essay, I endeavor in this one to add nothing of my own invention. It is intended to be a bouquet of familiar flowers. Only the bouquet itself is my creation, none of the flowers is a new variety. I welcome your comments on either or both web sites.
This site is constructed so that you will view the pages in sequence. Following this introduction you will find these sections:
--A different paradigm
--The fields of work: employment, service, career, meditation
--Work and the muse
--Work and power
--Work and money
I welcome your comments.
Each of us has been given
a strong desire for certain work.
A love for those motions,
and all motion is love. --Rumi
--Rumi, Love for Certain Work, translated by Coleman Barks
An Essay on the Dignity of Work
By Daniel R. Wilson
