Work is a very individual act. How we define it, how we
quantify it, how we give it meaning, how we value it; these are all important
perspectives in the discussion of work.
In a family who works, at their jobs, in their free time, out of
necessity, for fun, to busy our hands and quiet our minds, for the joy of
accomplishment, because it is what we do. Work is also the topic of many of our
discussions. We discuss simple things like our latest project or progress as well
as the very definition of what we want our everyday work to be. How will it
shape our lives into that of something meaningful? How will our children view
our work, our life’s accomplishments, what will it mean to them and all those
who come after? Does it really make a difference? Is it all worth it?
Is it all worth it? That is the one I ask myself on a nearly
daily basis. My work requires hard labor sometimes, heartbreaking losses
sometimes, repetitive monotony sometimes, big risks sometimes, financial hardships
sometimes, and love always.
I put my heart into everything I do. Most days it feels
good.
There is a creativity to all of it whether its figuring out
just the right combination of essential oils for a bath scrub, designing store
fixtures out of stuff we already have, using what’s in the pantry to get dinner
on the table, or finding solutions to keep our animals safe and healthy.
Sometimes the creativity is what drives me and challenges
me; sometimes the creativity is what threatens me and makes me feel the most
vulnerable.
People talk about working in the flow, a place where things
come together and move forward with ease. I think I feel this in many aspects
of my work, but it is still work. Hard work. Hard because I have to feel that
what I’m doing is the right thing, the thing that’s gonna take me somewhere,
somewhere I’ll be glad to have gone. Hard because sometimes, it’s just
physically hard work. Hard because someone is gonna be critical and say it
doesn’t matter, and I have to know it does.
I was talking with a friend recently about how hard it is to
put out into the world something with a piece of your heart in it. I told her
how much I struggle with feeling so vulnerable and anxious. She said to let
those feelings drive you. Feel them. She said what I’ve heard other creatives
and entrepreneurs say, feel those feelings and let them push you to do your
best. Even suggesting that the times when she didn’t feel the nervousness and
anxiousness, she didn’t perform as well.
Work is hard, life is hard, but the more heart I give it,
the more it means, the more it is worth, the more love and feeling and
happiness and goodness it is.
