For the Love of Money (Blog #1)

I'm not at all sure how I really feel about work. As Bell Hooks puts it, "it was clear to me that I would be a working woman" (21). As a black female, I'm very familiar with the concept. At a very young age, my parents instilled in me my central beliefs concerning work. First off, my father taught me that if a job was going to be done, it had best be done with excellence and integrity. He made sure that my siblings and I learned the lesson by overseeing the way that we performed our chores. My mother taught me to think about how my work can impact others by letting me know that success should be shared and utilized as a means of elevating the family. And I learned all of this before I was ten.

Thus far I have no professional experience in work. But what I do have is a wealth of personal experience. Even though it may take longer and it might not be--and in fact is seldom--appreciated, doing something as simple as making lunch for my brothers and sister is an example of work. Surprisingly, it is also a facet of my calling. As the Dalai Lama flawlessly explains, "'there is always a way to find a higher purpose to one's work'" (19). Cooking is a way of caring for someone else and caring for others is my calling. Though, specifically, I'm focused on health care as a career, my calling allows me to care for people in a number of ways and derive some satisfaction from my "work".

So many people don't find that sort of inner peace because work becomes a means of physical survival. I've seen it reduce people to balls of stress and depression. However, work does not have to be that way. Howard C. Cutler lists these three words in the order of 1) job 2) career 3) calling. I realize that he doesn't list it this way for any particular reason. However, this is the way so many pursue work. I know that it is the way my elder brother was working and it made him miserable. And now he's still in school trying to find out what it is that he truly wants to do with his life.

If people want to be happier in their jobs or careers, if people just want to be happy, they should first try to find their own calling. Knowing that I love care taking makes a job decision somewhat easier for me, perhaps moreso than other callings. Though health care is the CAREER I'm interested in, I can find a JOB cooking, cleaning, or doing some other menial task because it falls within the parameters of my CALLING. Of course, a personal attitude is essential to seamless adaption. I hated doing the dishes as a chore. I hated getting greasy food all over my hands and I still do. I probably always will. But just because I hate it doesn't mean I can't do it. In a small way it helps the household and I can make myself believe that it's a way of showing my mother that I appreciate how hard she works and I'm willing to help. If people can put that kind of spin on their work, it's hard not to do it with excellence.