Hooks and Lama: Enjoying the work you do is no trick play

The following entry is a response to the readings "Happiness at Work: Job, Career, and Calling" written by Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, and "Work Makes Life Sweet" by Bell Hooks.  The selections occur in the reading collections entitled The Changing World of Work by Marjorie Ford.

Many people see there job as either a means to an end, or just a way to make money.  Very few people see there work as anything but just work and as a higher calling to do something they were born to do. 

Is there anything that we can do not only for ourselves, but for others to help us enjoy our work, or are we destined to continue to work simply for money and social status?

In these assigned readings we hear from the Dalai Lama as well as Bell Hooks who tell us certain ways to find a higher meaning for our "work". 

The Dalai Lama says, "There is always a way to find a higher purpose to one's work...And also, they should recognize that, first of all, they are part of a society."  I say that he couldn't be more correct.  People in today's world are so consumed with themselves that they do not think of the higher purpose that they may be serving to others as well as a higher being.  The Dalai Lama also says that to find a higher purpose in a persons work they, "can realized the indirect benefits to others and be proud of what they do, and have a sense of accomplishment."  I say that society just needs to realize that they are part of something bigger than just their own personal job and money they are making. 

Bell Hooks shares with us a point of view from not only a woman but an African American woman and how she heard about work from fellow African American women.  Hooks says that, "the black people who were saying, "work makes life sweet" were the folks who did not work for whites, who did what they wanted to do."  I believe that there is no higher reward, nor is there any more enjoyable job to do than a job which you love and that your heart is in.  Hooks let's us know that the African American women wanted to work, but often felt degraded by the work they were doing which made it un enjoyable. 

I have very limited work experience, but I have had one job that I worked inside at and was completely miserable doing it.  However, I had another job that I was able to do outside working on baseball fields and given my love for the game I enjoyed doing that job so much more.  If your heart is in a job rather than just being in it for the money your time spent doing that job will be much more enjoyable.  When I was working on the baseball field I felt it was a calling as compared as to something I was just doing.  It would have been a terrible job to wake up at 7 A.M. every morning in the summer if I didn't see the job as a calling and something I enjoyed as opposed to "work".