Tuesday marked the beginning of the new semester. So today in Career Planning (got to love those requirements), we explored the work of Kahlil Gibran, a Lebanese poet. It reminded me greatly of Marge Piercy's "To Be of Use". I've included the excerpt here for your convenience.
On Work
Kahlil Gibran
You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.
For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.
When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.
Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?
Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.
But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,
And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret.
But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written.
You have been told also that life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.
And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,
And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,
And all work is empty save when there is love;
And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.
And what is it to work with love?
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.
It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.
It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.
It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,
And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.
Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, "He who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is nobler than he who ploughs the soil.
And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet.
"But I say, not in sleep but in the overwakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass;
And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.
Work is love made visible.
And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.
Both of the poems greatly illustrate the pressure put on us by society, especially our society. Milestones and goald are forced upon us. Although he who works with marble may be regarded with more prestige, the man or woman who ploughs the soil is just as valuable if he/she truly enjoys the essence of that work. He who tames rainbows is renowned, yet he who makes sandles is looked down upon. Where would we be without those who plough soil and make sandals? (Mr. McDonald even mentioned that people presently engaged in vocational jobs are the ones truly prospering. Professional are the ones suffering financially.)
The people I love the best
Jump into work head first
Without dallying in the shallows
And swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element...
(Piercy)
The goal of work is to be "a native of that element". Like Gibran, Marge Piercy feels that work is only accomplished correctly when done out of love for the work. Do not sing if you cannot bear to sing, for you will harm yourself and others. Do not crush grapes if you detest wine, for the product will be of poor quality. Although these examples are not realistic, they undoubtedly reflect bigger ideas in life. "Do something you love, and you'll never have to work another day in your life." Does this further help us define "work"? As far as I remember, we left the discussion without fully resolving that matter.
(Samantha Maliha)
7 comments:
I definitely agree that doing something you love is more satisfying than something you dislike. But when choosing a job you also have to think realistically. I like making collages but it doesn't mean that I should try to create a career out of it. I think Piercy's idea was that work is only valuable if you put your heart into it.
So does this mean that you will only be good at something if you like it?
(Kelley Volosin)
I actually do believe that you can't reach your full potential unless you enjoy doing what you are doing. Today, Mrs. Haynes saw that we were having difficulty with coordination between music and dance. She sat us down and asked us if we were each familiar with all of our fellow cast members. We replied that we did not, and she was shocked. We began a round of introductions, stating our name and grade.
I believe that Mrs. Haynes did this because she knows that we will be unable to take anything from the experience/enjoy the experience without having peers to enjoy it with. By becoming familiar with the rest of the company, we are bound to become more comfortable in our surroundings and enjoy the work the work that we are doing. She sees this as essential to our success.
(Sam Maliha)
Well I think that even though you don't like something, it doesn't mean that it can't be done well. With the right type of motivation, I'm pretty sure that people can manage to do many things, even if they happen to hate them.
However, at the same time, I think that it does make the progress of doing something more enjoyable and satisfying as Kelley said if you actually enjoy doing it. This reminds me of the quote, 'time flies when you're having fun.' When you enjoy doing something, it makes a task easier for you.
Also, sometimes I think that sometimes the luxury of being able to enjoy what you do comes with the cost of efficiency. For example, I may love playing the violin. However, I might become so engrossed in playing it that I completely ignore the proper techniques involved. I end up being inefficient in the sound I produce.
Gibran is encouraging us to accept work as part of our life and to enjoy it as well. As she explains it, it makes all the difference in the world whether work is done willingly or grudgingly. When we work, we should not view our labors as a burden, but as contributing to that infinitely complicated construction we know as Life. To be idle or to work with ill intent only weakens ourselves and that delicate structure.
As Mary points out, it still is possible to do something well without enjoying it. But to do work without passion unnecessarily interprets our labors as a burden, and to reach full potential, the daily challenges we face must be viewed as opportunities. Passion and enjoyment are stronger motivators than any amount of money or force.
-Eric Wei
I'm taking an entrepreneurship class right now, and this ties in a little bit. In our text book there are a list of advantages and disadvantages to becoming an entrepreneur. One of the advantages is being able to choose what you do for a living. But, in "the real world", a person doesn't always have the liberty to create his/her own business, and therefore decide exactly what s/he wants his/her job to be. But I certainly think that a person can only reach his/her full potential doing something s/he enjoys.
Personally, two of my favorite subjects in school are Spanish and French (in general). I find that doing homework for these classes is less draining (and more refreshing) than doing homework for my other classes. Work can get tedious, and my enjoyment vacillates from day to day, but I find that because I am passionate about these two subjects, I am more productive and willing to put more effort into learning.
I think that idea is generally applicable. People who do not enjoy their jobs can experience not only mental fatigue, but physical fatigue as well. My entrepreneurship teacher was telling us in class the other day how one job he had before becoming a teacher he disliked so much that he was actually physically sick a lot of the time. I realize that this isn't going to be the case for everyone, but my point is that when a person doesn't like his job, it can drain him very quickly and he can lose energy and motivation quickly.
I'd just like to add that, even if a person doesn't like a job, attitude can play a large role. If a person goes into a job griping and complaining, the outcome will not be as good as if he went into the job with a joyful, anticipatory spirit. I realize that this is a bit idealistic and possibly clichéd, but I honestly believe that attitude can play a large role.
Emily T.
I agree with many of the ideas that have been presented. Undesired or reluctantly completed work can indeed drain a person's energy, while desired or enjoyable work is far more easily completed. Gibran's poem seems to provide an eloquent explanation of this. I, too, believe that attitude plays a large role in determining how easily one accomplishes work. As we've heard numerous times, in terms of learning or studying, aptitude is merely one aspect; the other is attitude.
(Janet Lee)
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