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trouble with work.
I'm feeling disgruntled with my job.
what are some ways to remember to be happy with your work?
one i know is "when sifting through the sand remember to look for the rice."
so what do you do to keep going?
what are some ways to remember to be happy with your work?
one i know is "when sifting through the sand remember to look for the rice."
so what do you do to keep going?
0
Comments
1. Breathe. Take note, or be mindful of how I am feeling and 'see' the unhappiness as something seperate.
2. Get distance. The job is not me. It is just work, and it does not matter what the work is (it could be shoveling dirt, stocking a shelf, working a cash register, cooking a burger, etc.).
3. What DOES matter is that I focus on the present moment with gratitude. 'This is what I am doing now, and this is what I am doing now, and this is what I am doing now...' In every 'this moment'.
When I start feeling the 'me' I know I need to get myself to a mountaintop for a larger view. On a mountain, there is space and a different perspective....my problems seem smaller and managable. I then remember that work is actually good for me....a honing of my character...an opportunity in every moment 'to be'. And I find myself coming in a circle...where I reinvest myself in my job, with gratitude, not because it is a great job...but because it is a great opportunity.
Brigid
Perhaps your work cannot be a source of happiness to you. There are situations where there cannot be even the mirage of 'happiness from without'.
Falling to our deaths from a very high place, it is a pity not to enjoy the view.
I had a plant on my desk when forced into an office. The green leaves were wonderful 'anchors' back into the reality beyond the durance vile of that work.
It's an agreement you made with another person.
Nothing is holding you to this job - it's your decision.
Just think of how crappy it would feel if your employer became disgruntled with having to do payroll.
I think "mindfulness" also infers a level of responsibility.
But - work sucks sometimes. Life sucks sometimes. Relationships suck sometimes. Newbuddhist sucks sometimes.
Sometimes everything sucks like a HUGE sucking thing.
-bf
LMAO!!
Craig,
I agree with what Harlan was saying. Our approach to work, our perspective on it, plays the crucial role. No matter what that work entails, we can find glory and dharma practice in it. And on the days in which we can't find such loft things we can at least be grateful that it's not worse. It's all about attitude and perspective. It's a choice. If you insist on finding something worthwhile and satisfying in your work, you'll find it.
Brigid
There are "jobs" which are so repellent that only slavery can get them done. It is the language of the slave-owner (thank you, Matthew Fox, for the insight) to encourage the enslaved to enjoy their lot. In our slave-freeing democracies, we still enjoy the benefits of the work of slaves without the direct opprobrium or trouble of owning them. And our governments do too little to stop the horrific traffic in human beings into prostitution. Can you tell them about finding joy in their work?
How many of us, here, "owe our souls to the company store"? Banks, building societies, employers paying the minimum wage, e tutti quanti?
I was viewing this statement more in the regards of "entering an agreement with someone and being responsible".
There are plenty of jobs that only a slave would do. There are very unpleasant jobs that, thankfully, someone does.
But, I found myself thinking more of "putting your hands to a task and seeing it through". Once we engage in something, we should be mindful of it. Any type of work. Whether it's cleaning the house, taking care of your yard, taking care of family members, making tea, helping those who cannot help themselves, doing your 8 to 5 job, etc.
I believe mindfulness would teach us that whatever we do, we should be focused upon it and do it well.
-bf
I was just thinking about how the US finds countries where we can dump all of our old "technology". And the people who have to live in it.
How we rid ourselves of our filth - that pollutes the entire world.
How we purchase goods at wonderfully low prices because it has been made under slave labor conditions in other countries.
I'm still appalled this morning at the Chornobyl post that was put up yesterday.
But, I still stand by my comments regarding what I thought the heart of this thread meant.
-bf
Brigid
We are all slaves. Like it or not, Buddhism is about ridding ourselves of "preferences", our egos. Eating foul, rotting garbage is the same as eating a fancy couisine nouvelle meal. It's our perception that makes it different. I could take this a bit further but I don't want to offend.
Everyday is the same day. There ain't no breaks from reality.
Your post has me really thinking. I did see that movie and I think I understand what you're saying. I am starting to see the habitual loops I've created for myself throughout my life, my likes and dislikes that I have created for no real reasons, the things I do on a daily basis without fresh thought behind them and so on. I'm starting to see and slowly break out of the little prison cell of habitual thought and behavior I've been in ever since I mistakenly built it for myself, brick by brick. Rousseau was so right; man is born free but everywhere is in chains, or something to that effect. Self imposed imprisonment. Self imposed suffering. I have to keep reminding myself that I don't have to live this way, that I can do what I really want to do, be what I really want to be. I have to keep reminding myself that freedom is actually possible and within my capabilities. Funny how we weigh ourselves down like this. I'm starting to get an inkling into just how deeply deluded I really am.
Brigid
-bf
Dear Brigid,
I have a question for you and the rest of the NewBuddhist fold, I'm currently experiencing a feeling of dischord and unhappiness with my job, I'm a Sex Slave.
Do you have any ideas??
concerned sex worker (slave).:smilec:
Job done.
New career.
Simple.
Now THAT'S a good one!!
Brigid
Who is this guy?
He's hilarious!
-bf
I just picked up a nice book on the subject:
Awake at Work - by Michael Carroll
'35 practical Buddhist principles for discovering clarity and balance in the midst of work's chaos'