Fireside Chat: The Purpose of Work

You have been told also that 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 wok 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.

-      The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

It is strange to see work done in weariness. There are men who shape the world around them by the sweat of their brow, not the contentment of their hearts. These men sacrifice their bodies, mind, and health to shape our world. Nothing is wearisome than performing an act without one’s heart placed into their efforts. Instead of a mundane yearning for money, he must weave cloth as if his beloved were to wear that cloth. Instead of passive indifference, he must build that house as if his family would reside within those walls and harvest food as if his loved ones would partake in that feast. His hands harness the world, not the other way around. As it is written in the 64th Chapter of The Book of Isaiah concerning God’s work on us:

But now, O Lord, You are our Father. We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of your hand.

Isn’t it our responsibility to do the same with the world around us? If so, build with your heart AS WELL as the sweat of your brow; if this is so, then all our actions will allow us to reap what we sew.