Blog: Making work meaningful and elevating it to the greatest of human activities

Chatting with a former pupil, I learned that he was living a life of quiet desperation.  He lost his family and is feeling like a robot who mechanically does nothing of consequence day after day.

To help, I searched the web and  tried to recall what I've learned about work but all those were about how things should be.  But most workers have little or no control over that.  So I thought of my own reasons and ways.

First I think of why I work.  A picture of my 4 little kids and wife can make anything bearable.

Then I think how it can get worse.  I look at what others do and things start to look better.  See http://blog.compassion.com/the-dignity-of-work/

Finally and most importantly, I make my work a prayer, an act of worship and adoration by offering it to God.  I pray a morning offering to start my day and short prayers during breaks like, "Lord I offer this to you."  And I know that I am like a monk who is constantly praying and in the process, doing the greatest thing that a man can do.

Sweet lemonade

It was what I did when I was in between jobs that seemed to matter most. Back then, I took my late dad for his cataract surgery. We got his new car together and went shopping at CostCo. But that changed when I started working again as I spent 10 hours a day in the office & 2 on the road and then some over the weekends. I stopped visiting him. When he came to visit, I asked what he needed & worked on it quickly. He once asked me if I wanted to browse at Radio Shack, I told him, "Not really." That was the last time he ever asked. From then on, his visits became less until they stopped.

I called him one weekend while I was at work to impress him with my diligence. The next day, he stopped by. I asked him to sleep over. In the morning I fixed him some coffee and he took it as though he was accepting my reparation. As I was about to leave for work and he for his place, he lost his keys and seem bewildered. When my wife found the keys, I asked her to hide them. That night I got my brothers together and had dad brought to the hospital the next day. He died the day after.
I now drive his Corolla that we bought together to remind myself that I did take care of him when I had time. I feel that I could have done more, but it’s too late.