On my job site yesterday a young guy, working for the dry wall sub, so not my employee, was literally hiding from work. Pretending to work but actually wandering around doing nothing. I wanted to tell him ‘work hard, your day will go by twice as fast. You hiding out will make your day go soooo slowly. Work hard and your boss will give you better and better assignments. You will find something that interests you. You will get a satisfying career, make good money, and build a good life.’ He had wandered off before I could say anything. If I see him again, I will. But unless he asks me it will likely be pointless.
Thank you for this. So much of the world seems cultivation-averse. Collectively, we seem to be eager to skip the work if we think we can access the "achievement" another way. We settle for increasingly meaningless accolades and wonder why we seem to be chasing our tails. I'm grateful for a community that is immersed in a cultivation process.
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." Eccl 9:10. My children are in piano lessons, and they don't particularly care for it. Or at least they didn't until just a few months ago when they had finally mastered enough of the basics that what they were producing on the piano was music. After 2-3 years of a mom and dad who made them practice at least 5 minutes every day, I am so hoping they've learned this critical lesson: the road to becoming good at anything will often be hard, but never shy away from it. There is value in both the process of creating a gift because it builds up character, and in the process of using the gift because it blesses others.
"There is value in both the process of creating a gift because it builds up character, and in the process of using the gift because it blesses others." I couldn't have said it better. Thank you!
And they are learning what you are teaching. My now adult children have told us many times how fortunate they feel compared to their peers who never learned what they did about life.
On my job site yesterday a young guy, working for the dry wall sub, so not my employee, was literally hiding from work. Pretending to work but actually wandering around doing nothing. I wanted to tell him ‘work hard, your day will go by twice as fast. You hiding out will make your day go soooo slowly. Work hard and your boss will give you better and better assignments. You will find something that interests you. You will get a satisfying career, make good money, and build a good life.’ He had wandered off before I could say anything. If I see him again, I will. But unless he asks me it will likely be pointless.
Great advice. Shirking does expend so much energy
Thank you for this. So much of the world seems cultivation-averse. Collectively, we seem to be eager to skip the work if we think we can access the "achievement" another way. We settle for increasingly meaningless accolades and wonder why we seem to be chasing our tails. I'm grateful for a community that is immersed in a cultivation process.
Thanks, Ann. I'm grateful that you are part of this community.
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." Eccl 9:10. My children are in piano lessons, and they don't particularly care for it. Or at least they didn't until just a few months ago when they had finally mastered enough of the basics that what they were producing on the piano was music. After 2-3 years of a mom and dad who made them practice at least 5 minutes every day, I am so hoping they've learned this critical lesson: the road to becoming good at anything will often be hard, but never shy away from it. There is value in both the process of creating a gift because it builds up character, and in the process of using the gift because it blesses others.
"There is value in both the process of creating a gift because it builds up character, and in the process of using the gift because it blesses others." I couldn't have said it better. Thank you!
And they are learning what you are teaching. My now adult children have told us many times how fortunate they feel compared to their peers who never learned what they did about life.
Timeless rules for meaningful living.