There is usually an easy way around the hard work. We can buy cheaper products, get cheap labor to put the thing we want to build together, we can just do the minimum to check it off the list.
But what’s the joy in that?
Emotional labor isn’t fun, but it guarantees connection — to our lives and to what we are doing.
And, if we want it to last, do we really want to look at something we cut corners to build?
If we take the shortcut, we’re missing the point.
How committed we are to the work we do determines much more than we realize.
My mother taught me a lot without ever teaching me. She just had a way of living life that I realize now has become my way of life.
As a little girl, we had beautiful dark mahogany Ethan Allen furniture. She told me they bought it before my brother was born. They had saved for a year. They wanted the quality furniture that would last.
Bucky was born in 1971. I just sold that furniture at a garage sale this year.
It was part of my entire life. Because it was worth saving for. It was worth working for.
I can’t say I have always followed these principles, but I realize today, the value in the hard work — the importance of seeing something come to life after hard work.
The things that I tried to hurry are no longer around.
Also published on Medium.
There are no comments