Whatever Your Occupation-Daily Meditation July 17, 2023

Today’s quotation:

Whatever your occupation while in your physical body, remember it is a form of service.  However humble or even humdrum your work may be to you, it is your special appointment, and through your work on earth, you can contribute to the happiness of all.-White Eagle

Today’s Meditation:

I think that too many people don’t really think about the work that they’re going to do in this world as a service to their fellow human beings.  Rather, they take the first job that they happen to get and they stick with it because they’re afraid of losing their income, of losing seniority, of losing benefits such as insurance, of having to start over with something new.  And their work becomes drudgery, something that they do to pay the bills, but not something that they enjoy because they know that they’re making a positive mark on the lives of others.

I’ve been lucky to become a teacher, but that blessing is, of course, mixed.  While the job is extremely fulfilling most of the time, it’s also filled with frustrations that people don’t face in other jobs.  Students often dislike us for no reason, the pay is generally quite poor, we get blamed for all sorts of things that aren’t our fault, etc., etc.  But the fact is that mine is a job of service, and I can help people learn and grow and develop confidence and self-esteem.  And when I look at that work through that lens, the job is a “special appointment.”

When a tooth broke recently, I was thrilled that dentists would serve me and fulfill the need to put in a crown.  I was glad that people worked in insurance so that all that could be handled.  When I go to the grocery store, I appreciate the people who stock the goods–have you ever been in a poorly stocked store?  When I’m online, the work of many people who established and maintained the connections I need is a great service to me.

How we look at the work we do can determine a great deal of the amount of effort and energy we put into it.  When we realize that we are serving other people and that what we do is very important to them–even if only for a few moments at a time–we can approach our work with a positive attitude and give to it all that we can to do it well.  The effort we put forth to get good at what we do and maintain that high quality is worth what it costs us.

Questions to consider:

Why do so many people see their jobs as just a way to get a paycheck?

How good are you at the work that you do?  Could you get better?  How?

In what ways do you serve other people when you’re doing your work?

For further thought:

To bring one’s self to a frame of mind and to the proper energy to accomplish things that require plain hard work continuously is the one big battle that everyone has.  When this battle is won for all time, then everything is easy.-Thomas A. Buckner

If you missed our last Daily Meditation it is here.