Sunday, 17 June 2012

VIEWPOINT 9


A FOUR-LETTER WORD

Not life or love, but another – WORK. And it seems strange to me how attitudes to this quite important aspect of life have changed over the years. I wrote recently about “keeping weekends apart” since now I see that this is a common phenomenon, but go back say 150 years and the attitude was so different.

Recently, I came across some nice words from John Ruskin on this topic, which shows how our views have changed:
“We want one man to be always thinking and another to be always working, and we call one a gentleman and the other an ‘operative’. However, the worker ought to be thinking and the thinker often to be working – and both should be men in the best sense. As it is, we make both ‘ungentle’, the one envying, the other despising his brother. Thus, the mass of society is made up of gloomy thinkers and miserable workers. It is only by labour that thought can be made healthy and only by thought that labour can be made happy and the two cannot be separated without punishment”

Now, John Ruskin was way ahead of his time but nevertheless his words echo even today what we should think about one aspect of life which consumes 30% of our time. Perhaps the country that is richest is that which cultivates the greatest number of happy individuals; the rich who, having perfected the function of their own lives to the utmost, have always the widest helpful influence to develop the lives of others. I am reminded of Bhutan and their GHI – Gross Happiness Index – a long way from GDP but reflecting their world-view.

Returning to Khalil Gibran I find I am in tune with him again when he speaks:

“And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the temple gate and ask for alms of those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with lack of interest, you bake a bitter bread that feeds just half man’s hunger.
And if you resent crushing the grapes, your resentment distils a poison in the wine.”

Maybe this doesn’t resonate well in this modern (?) world where, as far as I can see, it is a “race to the bottom”, where ‘cheap’ equates to ‘good value’. Personally, I would rather pay more and have value whether it is for a mobile phone or food!

Until next time (working and thinking),

Peripatetic Scribe

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10 comments:

  1. Anonymous17 June 2012 at 07:07

    A brilliant blog! I will certainly read it with my students (company managers). It should be written on office walls globally to be constantly kept in mind!
    Thank you
    Lucana

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  2. Anonymous17 June 2012 at 07:14

    Your Sunday blog reader from UK: a great piece again. I think there must be something about Sunday that makes your articles stand out. I enjoy the distinction between Ruskin and Gibran - two very different individuals from very different times, but both speaking the same language. More brain-food for the day. Thank you again.

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  3. Anonymous17 June 2012 at 07:37

    Totally in agreement, P.S. Why separate the two activities as we do? If "operatives" are not allowed / required to think, how can they perform well? And if thinkers perceive their role as just that, how can their "thoughts" be relevant to those who "do"? More questions, more discussion, more reasons NOT to have a gap between people.... more please!
    Mark, NZ

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  4. Peripatetic Scribe17 June 2012 at 08:30

    Lucana, thank you for your comment. Reminding managers (thinkers?) is a start; putting the concept into practice is the "acid test" - it has to be done rather than merely agreed with.

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  5. Peripatetic Scribe17 June 2012 at 08:32

    Thanks, UK - perhaps it's the day of the week when my views are sharpened by a "day of rest"? Happy you enjoy my small words; there will be more I assure you.

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  6. Peripatetic Scribe17 June 2012 at 08:34

    Mark - you ask some valid questions. Maybe the divide exists mainly as a result of education? If you think ergo you cannot do / if you cannot think ergo you are an "operative". The more I think about the unnatural divisions the more I dislike them!

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  7. Anonymous17 June 2012 at 08:37

    Your view is a very good one and I like your English which is good practice for me in Ankara. I like how you use west and east in how you think. More people should use this way - we all have much to learn

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  8. Peripatetic Scribe17 June 2012 at 09:21

    Thank you Ankara and welcome. There are many articles you can use for your English and if you have questions, you can always contact me.

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  9. Anonymous17 June 2012 at 16:38

    Hi Peripatetic Scribe - I live in Kansas and your words strike me as very much a truth. Traditionally, this area has been one of manual labor but more industry is coming in. This means a shift from hands to brain but there is still a large number who have no choice but to use hand even thought they have been trained to use brain. Global pressure(s) make it a necessity to use the hands but that is no excuse not to use the brain. So I'm 100% in your favor. Thanks

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  10. Peripatetic Scribe17 June 2012 at 16:41

    Good day, Kansas and welcome. You make a good point - pressure from outside (and inside) are forcing the use of hands over brains in some areas. But, as you say, this should not make those who have to "work" to survive (rather than think to survive) feel they are "second-class citizens". Hope you will keep reading.

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