From The Storyteller
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Aug. 19, 2019, Work
Old saying, “Work is a four letter word, and so too is play. Your choice.” I don’t recall when I first heard it or who said it, but I do recall my first reaction. In my teen years, “work” meant taking out the garbage and mowing the lawn. I enjoyed neither; thus “work” for me was bad, and to be avoided whenever possible. A few short years later, I came to view “work” as a necessary evil. I began to “go to work”, so that I could earn a paycheck. Those dollars were important because they bought things like food, and paid the rent. Basically “work” went from something to avoid to something I “had to do”. During my lawyering days however, I discovered “work” was something that could be enjoyed. No, lawyer “work” wasn’t always fun, and it did require many long hours, but I found I actually enjoyed helping others deal with their real life problems. I realized “work” could be satisfying, and while it was still “work”, it had become something I “got to do”. When Elaine and I bought our 36ft sailboat (Safari) we became participants in the world of hard, physical, boatyard labor. Caution: When it comes to boats, you’ll either do the boat stuff yourself, or you’re rich. Not being wealthy, we did most of the boat stuff ourselves. This included doing things like installing parts, while hanging upside down in a cramped space with sweat burning my eye. Prior to Safari, this type of hard physical labor would definitely be considered “work” to be avoided, and yet this had become my “play” time. Lesson learned: “Work” and “play” are just names given to pieces of life. That was 15 years ago, and I haven’t done “work” since. Moral: Life is 24/7/365 with no do-overs. Choose wisely. |