Throw Your Gifts Like Seed

"Throw yourself like seed as you walk, and into your own field . . . "
Miguel de Unamuno, Spanish Poet

All of us want it: meaningful work that is truly ours, something that will speak for us long after we are gone, purposeful work that gives meaning to our days and to which, as Unamuno said, we can "throw ourselves like seed." He is saying we should dedicate ourselves to our talents and purpose - to find our gifts and give them away. That defines the value of work.

It is that sense of devotion that is important. Devotion actually comes from an Aramaic word that means 'vow.' A vow is a solemn promise that comes from some place deep inside us.

We commit. We follow through. We honor ourselves by the vow, as well as by the commitment.

Asking, "To what am I dedicated?" can help us uncover our work purpose as well as the value of our work.

For example, I had a friend in England who was a gardener. He worked in the gardens at Hyde Park, and his primary job was planting flowers. On one visit, he spent time with a number of us, sight-seeing and doing the tourist thing.

One day toward the end of the week, he was looking wistful and someone asked him what was wrong. He said, in his cockney accent, "I miss me marigolds. I need to see how they are."

As he talked more about it, it was obvious he had a deep love for flowers and how they could beautify the world. He was like a proud papa, planting and nurturing 'his' flowers, gaining a sense of deep satisfaction from his work by seeing them grow.

That's devotion. That's work satisfaction; that's the value of work. That's full expression - from the soul into the outer world.

That is the essence of meaningful work.

What, then, is your work? It may be in the job you do or, it may be in your hobby, in your family life, or in your volunteer work.

I was a career counselor for a period of time. It was a job that gave me a sense of deep career satisfaction.

One day, I was talking with a colleague about what we did for a living and he said, "You know, I feel like a minister in this job." "Ah," I thought, "That's it! That's what I do.

And even though I've had a number of 'jobs' since then, I now know and feel the essence of what I do is ministry. It's what gives me a sense of engaging in meaningful work.

I have friends who work part-time at an historic 19th century village. He grinds grain for visitors, the old-fashioned way. She dresses as a 19th century housewife and shows visitors how a family of that era lived.

They are both retired from responsible corporate jobs, but the joy they experience in this volunteer work is palpable. They love talking to people who visit from all over the world. "This work," they say, "keeps us young."

And that's another value of purposeful work: Feeling vital. Staying young-at-heart.

How many of us know people who retire only to die within several years? It isn't retirement that kills. It's the soul that dies because meaningful work and a work purpose is no longer there.

Studies have shown that people, who continue doing work they love and that they CAN do, live much longer, happier lives. I personally know a street tap-dancer in his 90's who can still hoof it up and who still mentors several young people in the art of tap.

It's never too early to ask yourself, "What is the essence of what I do? What do I most care about? What will give me the most career satisfaction?

What gifts and talents do I express? Which are waiting to be expressed? Where do I 'throw myself like seed into my own field'?

And, what, when I do it, blurs the lines between who I am and what I do?"

These questions can help you uncover, from your own depths, the sense of your work purpose. The answers can help you create a life where having meaningful work and career satisfaction never stops, even if the work you do now, does.

We are creatures who demand a sense of meaning and purpose in life and in our careers. It is crucial for us to answer these questions and to discover, and honor, the purpose of work for us.

I hope you discover yours.

Seed Newsvine

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