Not measured with money

At times, we complain about the work we do – the drudgery, the tiring hours, the implacable boss or the long commute we face every day. If only we could enjoy complete freedom! Yet, without work where would we be? Work it is that connects us to the world and is a great blessing! The work for which we are paid, is not of mere importance; it is the very essence of life.

First of all, work sustains us. It allows us access to the bare necessities of life -food, clothes, a roof over our heads and then the luxuries that make life worth living. But basic wants apart, it endows us with the grace of growing. There is no work that does not affect and influence others. It allows us to interact with others, bringing out the best in ourselves and in them.

I remember how I was stumbling along a road that had been dug up, sharp stones impeding movement. One of the workers, dressed in muddied clothes, came up to me with a hand outstretched. I looked at him doubtfully at first, then clasped his open hand. He led me across the road safely, gave me a smile and went back to his work. Rough though his work was, it had instilled in him the need for kindness and compassion.

Work nourishes us and tells us who we are. When we are productive, we feel good. Of course, we make mistakes but they have a saving grace. There is a saying that success is not final and failures are not fatal.

Through the errors that we make, we learn to improve and become more efficient. We find that team-work is important and that a keen
understanding of others play a fulfilling role in establishing spiritual maturity.

When we find work that we love and do it as well as we can, we earn a victory in life. As Sir Visvesvaraya, the renowned Indian engineer said, ‘Remember your work may be only to sweep a railway crossing, but it is your duty to keep it so clean that no other crossing in the world is as clean as yours. To give real service, you must add something that cannot be bought or measured with money’