The world is full of all kinds of stuff. There’s big stuff, little stuff, and stuff you figure doesn’t really matter or count.
But there is nothing that is created without reason… just as every single plant in the world has a use… so to does each little creature big and small. Many of the large whales exist on plankton so small that a single organism is merely a speck. This reminder came to me today as I watched ‘Horton Hears a Who’…. Dr. Seuss was a master in his concealment of morals and ethics into his little seemingly-crazy tales. As Horton the friendly elephant with child-like curiosity and wonder bumbles his way through the world…. he finds a speck of dust on a flower that contains a world. His compatriots don’t hear the creatures on the dust speck as he does with his big ears…. they could not envision anything grand coming from a small speck.
Some of the most thrilling events in film can be the ‘timed/partnered sequences’ (not a real term, I made it up). Something like the ‘Oceans’ series, or the ‘Man from UNCLE’ wherein people must work together seperately to achieve a goal… ‘Person Two’ cannot perform ‘Task B’ until ‘Person One’ has finished ‘Task A’ ….. they often must rely on a timekeeping piece to perform their task, having to take for granted that the other performed theirs in a timely manner. Such a task comes at us daily…. each time we pass someone on the road, we are relying on them staying in their lane…. we rely on them approaching the stop sign in the manner we are trained for….. and it is our responsibility to perform the correct actions in our own life we have been trained for
‘Trained for’… that’s the operative word. As we go through life we are given a series of increasingly complex tasks to learn, and excel at as we are learning still other more advanced tasks. We rely on others to do their job properly, so that we may do ours. Others rely on us to do our job, so that they may perform theirs. It is a cycle….. like the ‘cycle of life’. It is a cycle of reciprocity, delineated by society, abstracted by the individual… and ordained by nature. For it is the will of God, the Hand of Providence that brings us all here, to share together, live together, and experience this life together. We all have many things to learn… and we each have many things to share with one another… knowledge and concepts to learn, to accept and to pass on.
The other day I was working with some people… and the bossman mentioned to the crew that (paraphrased) ”There is no ‘small task’ in this job… nothing is inconsequential…. each person has something to contribute to this job…. in this project, there are many links, and the chain is only as strong as the weakest link. If one ‘small’ task, something with no ‘real input’ to the large scope and scale of the overall project is incomplete, amateurish, or incorrectly done, it will be the thing that the customer will see … and that is what will remain in their minds. Keep always in mind that we need each one of you with your skills to perform to the best of your training and ability to ensure a high quality product”.
There is nothing small about anything…. any small thing has something smaller to which to compare it… every big thing has something bigger…. all you can do is be the best you can at your job… do it well…. and be happy you have something you can do with precision.
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Ecclesistes 3
What does the worker gain from his toil?
So I saw that there is nothing better
for a man than to enjoy his work,
because that is his lot.
For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?
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Chapter 2
It is the world of man that defines ugly
by comparing it with that which man calls beautiful.
Skillful is considered such by comparison
to that which is called ‘without skill’.
Alive and non-alive are delineated by nature.
Difficult and easy are abstracted by our perception.
Long and short are defined by the one against the other.
High and low are reckoned so
by the contrast of the one with the other.
Music is seen as pleasing if the notes and tones
are recognized as being harmonious with each other.
One in front, and one behind are recognized as one following the other.
It is for this reason that the sage lives in the condition of wu-wei
(unattached action, or; doing-not doing),
And teaches without words.
He knows that names and images are fleeting,
and all things will transform.
One who seems to follow tonight
might lead another time.
He sees all that is done as neither large nor small.
All things are neither grand nor minuscule.
Actions are neither difficult, nor done with ease.
He acts without expectation.
Things spring up around him, and he accepts them,
but does not possess them.
Things go away, and he recognizes their departure without grief or joy.
When the work is done he leaves it be.
Because he does not dwell in it, it will last.
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Es isst ganz einfach…
Wir sind.. alle ein
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Kahlil Gibran
‘The Prophet’
‘On Work’
Then a ploughman said, “Speak to us of Work.”
And he answered, saying:
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 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 over-wakefulness 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 distills 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.
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‘Desiderata (things to be desired)’
~Max Ehrmann 1872-1945~
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
We all count….