What we do and how we do it profoundly affects our lives. At this time of spiritual awakening in our world, many people are not only working more, they are asking more of their work. Those who are interested in living an awakened life, a life in harmony with their true nature, are asking important questions about their relationship to work. They are looking for work that is soul satisfying, stirs the divine creative powers within and makes a positive contribution to life. Success in terms of right work is measured beyond meeting basic security needs or reaching the heights of fame or fortune. Some questions that can be asked as we explore the topic of discovering our right work are: Beyond the purely pragmatic concerns of livelihood, what am I working for? What makes my heart sing with joy? Would I find some way to do the work I currently do if I was not paid for it? What difference does my engagement in this particular work make to others or to the world? Is this work conducive to my spiritual growth?
When contemplating the topic of work, people sometimes wonder: Am I in my right place? They question whether the particular work they do is the best environment for their skills and interests. With this question, there is an assumption that for each person there is a “right place” which will be a perfect match for them. Yet we cannot be any place other than our right place. Our right place according to spiritual principle will always be the out picturing of our consciousness, the outer reflection of our mental impressions and beliefs. Whatever situation we are in is the place that rightly reflects our current state of consciousness. If we want to find a place that offers more opportunity, more joy, or more meaning, then we must first find that place in ourselves by discovering it in consciousness. The manifestation of our right place comes from the inner realization of it; we can’t find a “right place” outside of our own consciousness.
As we begin to awaken spiritually, we may experience that circumstances which were once satisfying or acceptable to us no longer seem appropriate. This may be a call to grow, to make the necessary adjustments both in consciousness and in circumstances. But too often when this call to grow comes, people take action only outwardly without also tending to the necessary inner work. They feel dissatisfied with their work and simply change jobs without contemplating what the real need is or doing the inner work to either transform the situation they are in or attract a more suitable position. People are then surprised that the job change they thought would be fulfilling turns out to be less than satisfactory. This may happen because even though the growth indicator was there—the feeling of dissatisfaction—the change that was made was only an outer move. And sooner or later, without the requisite inner change, the situation will prove untenable.
When we inquire within to contemplate the right work for us, we should ask: What is the divine will for my life? What is the divine possibility for my work? Ask to know the highest good for your life. When you have a sense of that possibility, then know that your true work rests on the willingness to do whatever it takes to grow and to express that potential. Our true work is being willing to express our divine potential, to be the “growing edge of God” in the world, as God is expressing as us. The particular job that is for us is not the issue; it already exists. Once we bring forth the potential to match it, we will not miss it. To find our right work, we must look inside to its origin and be willing to become what it requires. Our right work is not a job. Our right work is to grow along spiritual lines, to become the hero of our own existence; to risk becoming all we can be.
Think About It: When author and business consultant Srikumar Rao was asked what someone could do to find more happiness at work he responded: I think the single most important thing that we can do is to recognize that we do not live in a real world; we live in a construct, and we made it. That’s actually a hugely liberating concept because if what we live in is the reality, then we’re stuck; there’s nothing we can do about it, grin and bear it. But if what we’re living in is a reality, then there’s a lot we can do about it. We can deconstruct the parts of it that are not working, that we don’t like, and build it up again.
–from greatergood.berkeley.edu.com
Be Inspired: Your work is to discover your work and with all of your heart to give yourself to it.
-Sayings of the Buddha from the Dhammapada
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