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The Work You Do, the Person You Are


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2017 Jun 4, 1:24am   1,292 views  3 comments

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In those days, the forties, children were not just loved or liked; they were needed. They could earn money; they could care for children younger than themselves; they could work the farm, take care of the herd, run errands, and much more. I suspect that children aren’t needed in that way now. They are loved, doted on, protected, and helped. Fine, and yet . . .

Little by little, I got better at cleaning Her house—good enough to be given more to do, much more. I was ordered to carry bookcases upstairs and, once, to move a piano from one side of a room to the other. I fell carrying the bookcases. And after pushing the piano my arms and legs hurt so badly. I wanted to refuse, or at least to complain, but I was afraid She would fire me, and I would lose the freedom the dollar gave me, as well as the standing I had at home—although both were slowly being eroded.

knew that if I told my mother how unhappy I was she would tell me to quit. Then one day, alone in the kitchen with my father, I let drop a few whines about the job. I gave him details, examples of what troubled me, yet although he listened intently, I saw no sympathy in his eyes. No “Oh, you poor little thing.” Perhaps he understood that what I wanted was a solution to the job, not an escape from it. In any case, he put down his cup of coffee and said, “Listen. You don’t live there. You live here. With your people. Go to work. Get your money. And come on home.”

That was what he said. This was what I heard:

1. Whatever the work is, do it well—not for the boss but for yourself.

2. You make the job; it doesn’t make you.

3. Your real life is with us, your family.

4. You are not the work you do; you are the person you are.

I have worked for all sorts of people since then, geniuses and morons, quick-witted and dull, bighearted and narrow. I’ve had many kinds of jobs, but since that conversation with my father I have never considered the level of labor to be the measure of myself, and I have never placed the security of a job above the value of home. ♦

More: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/06/05/the-work-you-do-the-person-you-are

#Work #BeYourself #People #Family

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1   sagacious1   2017 Jun 4, 5:15am  

"Whatever your life's work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better." Martin Luther King Jr. This attitude, develops an individuals purpose, enhancing virtue. Problematic today, is that there is a general mistrust of motive...as a society we are polarized...black against white, rich against poor, gays against straights, women against men, religion against religion, atheists against religious, legal against illegals, etc.. I suggest it is fomented purposeful manipulation meant to erode social harmony.

2   BayArea   2017 Jun 4, 7:10am  

APOCALYPSEFUCK_is_ADORABLE says

No one goes the fuck home until the investors are satisfied they've gotten the value they're paying for - or you'll be training your H1 slave replacement for your severance. ASSHOLE!

You have great wisdom sir and an eloquent and entertaining way of presenting. I always look forward to AF's posts lol

3   mmmarvel   2017 Jun 4, 10:55am  

While I didn't grow up in the forties, my growing up has similar refrains. I remember my first job (away from home) at the age of 8, I went with other kids from the neighborhood and caught the bus to the berry and bean fields. I learned to work, I ENJOYED the fact that I was making my own money that I could spend any way that I wanted (my parents did the 'this is what you do with your money BESIDES just spend it' talk later). I learned the harder and faster I worked, the more I made. That job lead to lawn mowing jobs in the neighborhood, followed by paper routes, finally (at age 16) busboy in a restaurant, which lead to dishwasher and then pantry chef. My list is long and I'm proud of what I've done in my life. As I said to a neighbor the other day, I leaned SOMETHING in every job, even IF that lesson was 'I don't want to do this for a living'. Another friend pointed out that I've 're-invented myself' numerous times. Not a damn thing wrong with a job and work, too many young people don't have a clue about what I'm talking about.

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