Some weeks lead with high expectations that all those rabbits you've been chasing will finally go to ground. Others just feel like one more round on the gerbil wheel. Monday often seems to set the tone for the week and the way it goes is a pattern for the days to follow. For some reason I woke with the feeling that this will be one of those weeks where all those things that have been floating out in front that won't seem to light will begin to come together into something positive. I guess we'll see. The week hasn't really caught first gear yet.
I suppose my positive attitude began with the dreams that woke me during the night. I have a tendency to wake multiple times and prefer to have a clock within view where I can mentally note the time and calculate how many more hours are left before an acceptable hour at which to rise. My sleep rhythm and the circadian rhythm have gotten out of sync. Anyway, the dreams that flashed through my mind each time I awoke seemed interesting and optimistic and something to remember, so I made mental note to myself to do so. I can't remember a one of them this morning, only the vague impression that they were positive and filled with accomplishment and progress.
Maybe I need a notepad by the bed on which to record things which flash through my mind as self-proclaimed brilliance. The trouble with that is my spouse, attempting to sleep in spite of my tossing and turning, would be further disturbed and likely become more than a little perturbed at the light coming on at all hours of the night in order for me to record my thoughts. I suppose it isn't such a good idea.
Why is it that some days are filled with expectation and others with dread? Why do most people dread Mondays? The common explanation is that they prefer the chosen leisure activities of their weekend to the mandated structure of a job. We dislike going to work.
I don't buy it. I see people working on the weekends and other days off. They sometimes work at what are considered recreational activities, but if you dive into the essence of work -- if you look at the many definitions of work -- it quickly becomes apparent that work is where we choose to exert effort. My preferred definition of work is "activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform something."
I know people who work much harder at hunting deer than they do for the paycheck that provides the funds for the ammunition required to hunt the deer. They gripe and complain that their job is interfering with their opportunities to hunt. Perhaps the issue is simply that they need to re-frame their thinking in regard to their job which attaches a monetary reward. If you view it as the means of attaining the resources to do what you choose, then it becomes part of the very exercise of your enjoyable activity. The day job on the road crew is just the first part of the hunt.
We humans are strange creatures. We allow ourselves to be convinced that work is a bad thing. It is something we are "made" to do in order to survive. Such a mentality is contributory to the attitude that seems prevalent today that "the government" should provide everyone with a livable wage. Well, to be clear, "the government" provides nothing that people who contribute to it by their labor didn't create in the first place. In the words of Robert Heinlein who borrowed it from common usage during his developmental days, "TANSTAAFL." (there ain't no such thing as a free lunch)
I look forward to see what the fruits of my labor might be. Work is a good thing. It is gratifying to see what can be created through the efforts of man/woman both individually and collectively. Look on your work with the eyes of a child and be amazed at what your hands and mind can accomplish.
No comments:
Post a Comment