The Spirituality of Work

[deutsey]

A lot of this is taken and updated from a lay sermon I gave at a UU service four years ago.

http://www.midshorelife.com/content/spirituality-work

Despite some promising (albeit small) signs that the economy may be recovering, there’s one daunting obstacle overshadowing it.

“It’s still about jobs, jobs, jobs,” a recent article on MSNBC.com almost breathlessly begins. “Until the employment market starts showing signs of improvement, it will cast a pall over any ‘green shoots’ of growth poking up through the destruction left by the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression.” Story

The article, which says America is losing about 600,000 jobs a month, goes on to discuss employment as an economic factor. However, rarely do we see news stories that characterize the work we do as a spiritual matter, which seems to me to be of equal importance to our lives.

After all, most workers spend more time on the job during their work life than they do at home, so naturally spiritual matters like vocation, finding meaning in what we do, and sharing a sense of supportive community with our coworkers are all as important to our overall well-being as our economic health.

Still, we don’t see many reports addressing how what we do for a living contributes to (or detracts from) what we need in terms of a meaningful life. When reporters do investigate this important aspect of our work lives, what they find isn’t all that edifying.

Especially in these tough times with ongoing layoffs, the workplace for many people is becoming a very cutthroat place.

MORE at LINK

[Berry Cool]

1. Nice piece of writing, very relevant to today

even with all these people losing any job they had.

K&R

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Perhaps now is the time to reinvent ourselves

to ourselves--we are more than our work, and what we do with our time should reflect this. Life can have meaning even if you don't get a paycheck--a hard lesson to learn, but one that is important.

[deutsey]

3. That's how I get through the work day, in fact.

I know my current job is not a true reflection of who I am.

Still, especially as I get older, I'm looking for a way to more completely integrate who I am with what I do for a living.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. I think it can happen

right now I'm working for a non-profit health education foundation whose goals I share. I'm one who is really in to helping people, and this job fits the bill on many many levels.

[deutsey]

6. I'm looking into trying to make a vocational move

Pastoral counseling, ordained ministry.

Unitarian Universalist style. :-)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

8. Go for it!

Best of luck to you!

[deutsey]

9. Thank you...

and, as someone influenced by Buddhism and Sufism, I dig your sigline. :hi:

[54anickel]

10. I've been working on the same thing since my employer closed shop. Just didn't have the

drive or desire to re-enter the dog-eat-dog corporate arena. Took a while to adjust to a much more modest income and lifestyle, but so far I'm loving life. Hopefully, I'll be working on my CPE this fall.

Best wishes to you in your vocational move.

[deutsey]

4. Thought this was a relevant article

Lawyer survives Hudson River flight, loses job
Philosophical, he’s not sure whether to consider himself saved or lost


SNIP

Now he's a 48-year-old unemployed attorney. Like the Biblical Job, who lost and gained everything, Scudere searches for an elusive meaning in suffering and redemption. He's grateful, a bit angry and reflective. "I don't feel sorry for myself," he said. "It just shows the randomness of life, and the inevitability of loss. You can lose, and yet you can still be preserved. I lost my job, and yet I have my life."

SNIP

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30220173

[JerseygirlCT]

7. That's why I work for nonprofits. It's actually a partly selfish motive

but I'd shrivel up inside just a bit if I weren't doing something I believed in.