Pablo Picasso said, “Work is the ultimate obsession”. He was on to something. For most of us life is partitioned into two important but inseparable paths. The first is procreation and family with, most hopefully, loving parents and children. The second is how we care and provide for the family, a never ending activity known as work.
The results of our work provide the ability to feed and shelter the family and educate our children. Traditional families share the burden with the father providing the means and the mother nurturing the children to maturity. Raising children to maturity is arguably the noblest of all work that can never be put aside and requires daily and thoughtful devotion. Today’s economic realities have greatly complicated that ideal while the basic needs continue unabated. The role of women has grown toward full parity with men in the market place, a good thing but a recognized complication regarding raising children.
Work is noble. It begins with preparation and ends with success or failure on every level. From either result we must learn, correct errant behavior and carry on because there is no practical alternative to sustaining self and family unless you win the lottery. Study and research in a laboratory is work. Digging trenches is as well. Librarian’s, Nurses, Accountants, Judges in Court, framing a house and clerks in offices; all that is worthwhile work. Living on welfare is not work.
Work is particularly beneficial to young people. First it is an enriching substitute for idleness and purposeless behavior. By bussing tables in a greasy spoon restaurant or babysitting, mowing lawns or life guarding young people begin to understand the responsibilities of mature life. They also begin more constructive thinking about their future paths. Young people who have the grit to seek work are taking the positive path toward a rewarding future. Idleness provides no rewards.
For a student, the work of learning in school or on the job is important by any measure. College is great but is only one of so many answers toward preparing for a meaningful life. In Virginia I met a man at a County Fair who’s life work developed from Carpenter Apprentice into crafting beautiful handmade chairs that earned four figure prices. His artistry was awe inspiring and, in his thirties, he was a wonderful example of what Picasso’s ultimate obsession can mean.
If your work becomes an obsessive passion, a good thing, you must still be mindful of family and community. If your work is one of meaningless and repetitive drudgery that begets resentment and inner anger you must change your circumstances. This is never easy but is the only way that work and its rewards for you and your family can be achieved.
Work can become both financially and spiritually rewarding. And, for sure, it is necessary for providing our basic necessities. It is up to us to make the best of it. My book, 1776:The Legacy of Freedom, points out in Chapter 8 that the Constitutional guarantees of freedom that America bestows on us is the best environment to leverage our God given talents with which to work and achieve a good life. Go for it!
Charles L. Dumas,
IceBreaker