Rosy Glow – Work

By
Bob LaTorre

I found this one written by Cousin Bob and I thought it would be appropriate for Labor Day. So enjoy and have a Happy and Safe Labor Day weekend.

If one were to ask 100 people the question, “Why do you work?” ninety-five would give some variation of the following answer. “I work to get money to support myself and my family.” How sad!

 While it is true that most of us need to earn the money to support ourselves, isn’t it a pity that so many people have no other reason to work than for money. Studies have shown that wanting to work, is part of every human’s psyche. It is inherent in all of us to want to work. But the danger is that when we work at something we do not like to do, the effort becomes not work but drudgery.

 Since we spend on average the greatest part of our waking hours at “work” wouldn’t it be better if we all worked at what we enjoy doing? Of Course! Than why is it that so many people answer the question regarding work in the way that they do. Shouldn’t the answer be more like… “I work because I love to build houses or I really enjoy selling things to people or delivering gasoline to service stations on time gives me a real kick, or teaching kids to read is fun,, or just think of what a mess this town would be if I didn’t pick up the garbage every week – I am an environmentalist.”

 In other words our reasons for going to work each day should reflect our pleasure at our work, not the financial rewards which come to us. The truth is that if we find something we really like to do and we learn to do it well the rewards will always be great. In addition to the money we will have every day filled with happiness and satisfaction as well.
If we look closely at the foundations of individual liberty and freedom as put forth by the founders of America it is easy to see why they were obsessed with the concept of individual choices.

 Many of the colonials were here to serve out prison sentences; still others came as indentured servants. In either case a large number of early Americans were forced to do work which they hated. In addition many others were apprenticed out at very young ages to learn a trade. Seldom did these boys and girls ever have a choice in the matter.

 One perfect Example is Benjamin Franklin. He was just a boy when he ran away from his home in Boston and come to Philadelphia to find the work he wanted to do instead of the apprenticeship he had been sent into at the age of seven.
It is too bad we do not spend more time studying the human side of the founders, knowing them as people gives us great insight into why they structured the nation as they did.

 What they did was to give us almost unlimited personal freedom. It is that freedom to do what we choose with our lives which has made Americans the richest people in the history of the world. Slaves are the most unproductive labor force in the world. If one is a slave, which can be defined as forced to work against our will at work we which we hate, the quality and quantity of our product will be shabby and small. It does not matter if we do that job as a result of a whip to our backs or because we have enslaved ourselves for money the psychological effect is the same.

 Every day we run into these self-made slaves, we find them as toll collectors, waitresses, bank tellers, service station attendants, and yes even doctors and lawyers. Too many of us are doing work which, if do not outright despise it, we find no joy doing it.

 What a waste, for the individual as well as society. It is especially true now. At this moment these are jobs going begging in almost every area of life. In addition there schools which teach every skill. In many instances if a person cannot afford the cost of school a company will pay a willing worker while they train that person in the new job. Well you say that may be true but the kind of work I want to do isn’t available here!

 Aha..But that is exactly why the founders provided us with another one of our most important freedoms, the freedom to move about. We never have had and I pray to God we never have an internal passport system in this country. This is our guarantee that we can go where we want to, when we want to, to find the work we want to.  If you are not happy with what you are doing, I suggest that you give some thought to finding some work which would make you really happy. Then find out what you need to know to do that work, where those jobs are available and go to that place and begin doing work that will make you happy.

 The rewards will be great for you and those you serve. Why you will even find many more working hours filled with a …. Rosy Glow.