Do you find deep meaning in your work?

[ranjana]

i sometimes wonder about meaning in our daily work... specifically, is it important to centre your work around what you find most meaningful in life, or is work just to allow one the means to pursue the meaningful pursuits in one's life?

Personally, what's important to me is to sharpen and refine my awareness, to know the source of my being as that which is eternal and is the source of everything and everyone. I do this through meditation and satsang, meeting and talking with other meditators, and studying the teachings of realized beings.

Going to school and working, sometimes I find so much attention and importance is placed on things that are ulitmately meaningless, yet we have to perform and absorb all this meaningless information to succeed in the 'real world'.

I know that studying the nature of reality can only help me to live in any circumstances with clarity and wisdom, whether im a professional whatever or a mother or seeker, but sometimes its hard to put so much energy into securing a career when i want to focus more on my spiritual evolution (for lack of a better term!)

I just wonder how others look at working, in terms of meaning and priorities: how often do they go hand-in-hand for people here?

Thanks, Ranjana

ps i have no idea if this is the right forum!

 

[whereismynotecard]

Well... to me, life as a whole is meaningless... But when I work, which I don't any more, it is so I can have money, so I can buy things I want, like clothing, shoes, DVDs, video games, stuff I need, like gasoline and car insurance. Instead of focusing on what is meaningful, I focus on stuff that I would like to do. For instance, I enjoy going to the movies, buying gifts for people, and living in a house with electricity and running water. In order to do those things, I need money... so I worked at KFC/A&W for 2 years, and then at the drive in movie theater for 4 days, until I had enough money to do what I wanted, and also to have extra, so that I could take a break from work.

Now when I go to school, it is so I can get a job that I will not hate and that will give me money to continue doing the things that I like to do.

But seriously, the two jobs that I've had so far were completely about money. If not for money, of course I wouldn't have gone to work, but now that I'm getting older, I'm going to have more choices than restaraunts and movie theaters, so I can pick a real job, which I hope will be teaching. Then, when I go to work, I will try to do my part to make the lives of the kids I teach as good as I can, by treating them all fairly, and to any of the poor ones, the ones who don't have any friends, or the ones whose parents die, I can say "I understand," and then maybe it will make them feel better having me there. But I'll still also be going for the money...

 

[3.14]

to me everything is time you can spend it on everything and trade it for more time, money allows you to buy "time" you can spend your time in whatever way you want.

the easyest way to gain more time is by purcusing it with money, you gain money by selling/renting you time out to a employer .
with this money you can buy someone els his time, but luckly some have specialiced there time so that they can compleet stuff in less time then it would take a induvidual,
this on a large scale alows us to gain more time then we put in.

so it doesn't matter what you do your still gaining more time then you put into it

 

[BucephalusBB]

to me everything is time you can spend it on everything and trade it for more time, money allows you to buy "time" you can spend your time in whatever way you want.

the easyest way to gain more time is by purcusing it with money, you gain money by selling/renting you time out to a employer .
with this money you can buy someone els his time, but luckly some have specialiced there time so that they can compleet stuff in less time then it would take a induvidual,
this on a large scale alows us to gain more time then we put in.

so it doesn't matter what you do your still gaining more time then you put into it

So.... You're an accountant right?

 

[ranjana]

so it doesn't matter what you do your still gaining more time then you put into it

so you would be as satisfied with watching tv all day if it paid double than something that was intrinsically meaningful to you, something you were passionate about, which you could do all day, but paid less?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Going to school and working, sometimes I find so much attention and importance is placed on things that are ulitmately meaningless, yet we have to perform and absorb all this meaningless information to succeed in the 'real world'.

Hopefully, if you think about it, you can find deeper meaning in what you do. You may also find that your career is part of your "spiritual evolution".

For example, in my own professional life, the arcane details of road sign placement or traffic analysis may seem meaningless in and of themselves, but both are examples of necessary parts of much larger (and IMO important) goals like the safeguarding of human life (by warning drivers of hazards ahead), the proper functioning of communities (by making sure that the road network works), or protecting democracy (by ensuring that government officials can't deny a landowner's freedom arbitrarily).

I recognize that even the most tedious aspects of my job are parts of a larger purpose. For example, when I'm debugging a macro for a transportation demand model, I realize that without what I'm doing, the model won't run, and without the model, we won't have the information that the municipality needs to do its capital budget forecast, and without that, they won't be properly equipped to make their necessary financial plans, which has impacts on everything from whether the potholes will be fixed to whether the residents will be taxed fairly.

Anyhow, I have a feeling that if you really think about it, you'll see that there is greater meaning and purpose in just about everything you do. If you don't see it now in your studies, hopefully you can recognize that you're preparing to do meaningful things, which is meaningful in and of itself.

 

[DallasApple]

I erased what I said...because it was wrong..and kind of pathetic...

Love

Dallas

 

[blackout]

My entire life is my work.

And yes!
I both realize, & REALize deeper meaning in it all.

My life is an epic story,
and I am the author.

 

[Circle_One]

Incredibly, I DO find deep meaning in watching beautiful, hot, sweaty, rockstars rocking out on stage....

But that's just me. *shrug*

 

[Sunstone]

I just wonder how others look at working, in terms of meaning and priorities: how often do they go hand-in-hand for people here?

Ideally, one should find work where one's talents and skills meet with the needs of the world. That is, we all have a more or less unique set of talents and skills. And the world has many needs. If you can match your talents and skills to the needs of the world in a socially responsible way, you will much more easily become passionate about your work.

However, if that proves to be for some reason impractical, then it is best to cultivate a hobby in which you do that very thing -- match your talents and skills to the needs of the world. Otherwise you risk not finding your passion in life, and not fully developing your talents into skills. It is extremely difficult to realize your potential without personally meaningful work.

 

[DallasApple]

Ideally, one should find work where one's talents and skills meet with the needs of the world. That is, we all have a more or less unique set of talents and skills. And the world has many needs. If you can match your talents and skills to the needs of the world in a socially responsible way, you will much more easily become passionate about your work.

However, if that proves to be for some reason impractical, then it is best to cultivate a hobby in which you do that very thing -- match your talents and skills to the needs of the world. Otherwise you risk not finding your passion in life, and not fully developing your talents into skills. It is extremely difficult to realize your potential without personally meaningful work.

I like that..."meets the needs of the world"...

Sometimes it meets the "needs of the world"...and its "impractical" (not good enough)

So you have to get a "hobby"...

Hmm...

Love

Dallas

 

[blackout]

for me personally, the idea of meeting the needs of individuals
is more fullfilling than the generic idea of meeting the needs of "the world".

But then again... that IS something I think the world at large is in desperate need of.

Dynamic individualism.

Just musing out loud.
Don't mind me.

 

[DallasApple]

for me personally, the idea of meeting the needs of individuals
is more fullfilling than the generic idea of meeting the needs of "the world".

But then again... that IS something I think the world at large is in desperate need of.

Dynamic individualism.

Just musing out loud.
Don't mind me.

I think thats good...and I think you are correct...

Love

Dallas

 

[ranjana]

And the world has many needs. If you can match your talents and skills to the needs of the world in a socially responsible way, you will much more easily become passionate about your work.
It is extremely difficult to realize your potential without personally meaningful work.

thank you for your reply; the part i get 'caught' on, is that I cannot ever be satisfied if i try to satisfy the world. The world is one big story of loss and suffering, so to try and work towards fixing all its deficiencies from outside myself seems an impossible and illusory task.

So i have concluded that the only place I can work on correcting a deficiency is within myself, within my vision, within my understanding. Basically my highest aspiration is to be free from illusion of a divisive mind, always seperating and judging, creating stories that do not serve at all.

Yet, becoming a high-functioning part of this ill-functioning society just seems to make it all so much more difficult!! Dont get me wrong, I have played out the story of living off the grid, and found that not to be the answer. I would like to earn a comfortable living, and one day raise a family... very normal stuff. I have worked for years as a gardener and landscaper, becoming industry certified and doing something i love and that brings me joy, and supports me at the same time. I suppose by my own logic, nothing outside of myself should bring me the clarity and knowledge that I so desire...

I just find working full time, now going to school full time and working part time, all moving towards doing something i love, that would bring me pleasure to do as a profession and give me a comfortable lifestyle... does not bring me meaning! in fact it brings me into a strange realm where my attention is always on something other than pure knowledge, and i feel like im buying more into the story of being a very individualized person with an over active mind.

How do people still maintain a higher consciousness while leading a very busy mundane life? Does anyone know what i mean by this?

 

[Sunstone]

Ideally, one should find work where one's talents and skills meet with the needs of the world. That is, we all have a more or less unique set of talents and skills. And the world has many needs. If you can match your talents and skills to the needs of the world in a socially responsible way, you will much more easily become passionate about your work.

However, if that proves to be for some reason impractical, then it is best to cultivate a hobby in which you do that very thing -- match your talents and skills to the needs of the world. Otherwise you risk not finding your passion in life, and not fully developing your talents into skills. It is extremely difficult to realize your potential without personally meaningful work.

When I say, "Match your talents and skills to the needs of the world", I do not mean all the needs of the world. I mean that someone should find a need or needs that he or she can match their talents and skills to.

 

[zenzero]

Friend ranjana,

Do you find deep meaning in your work?

Life is non-serious.
One is already in that garden of eden where nothing needs to be done but still one struggles, tries to find some deeper meanings etc because they are blinded; blinded by the active mind whose acts as a curtain. Just still the mind and the curtain raises and one finds it has always been there *The Garden of Eden*
Love & rgds

 

[ranjana]

to sunstone, but i think thats the crux of where our philosophies differ.... i think existence is perfect in the sense that it could not be any other way than it already is... so to think of the world as having many different needs that can be fixed by the merits of our own doing, doesnt make sense to me. i think the greatest 'help' would be to become 'enlightened' and to see the world as it really is, with no delusions, and to help light up others perspectives.

 

[blackout]

When I say, "Match your talents and skills to the needs of the world", I do not mean all the needs of the world. I mean that someone should find a need or needs that he or she can match their talents and skills to.

I know sweetheart.

Sometimes I over nuance stuff,
then go off on a personal tangent.

Clearly if we are speaking of work in the money making sense
(see what I mean? )
it is necessary to match peoples' needs with our talents and skills.
On whatever scale that might be.

 

[Sunstone]

to sunstone, but i think thats the crux of where our philosophies differ.... i think existence is perfect in the sense that it could not be any other way than it already is... so to think of the world as having many different needs that can be fixed by the merits of our own doing, doesnt make sense to me. i think the greatest 'help' would be to become 'enlightened' and to see the world as it really is, with no delusions, and to help light up others perspectives.

Ranjana, do you think the world's needs will go away when you are enlightened? What has given you that impression? Will the need of people to eat go away when you are enlightened? Even if all the world were enlightened, would the need of people to eat go away?

I think you are mistaking the word "need" for the word "problem". That is why you are thinking of "fixing" needs.

 

[Sunstone]

Clearly if we are speaking of work in the money making sense...

But why would we want to speak of work only in "the money making sense"? I don't understand.