Friday, December 24, 2010

Education is Important for Work

The trite answers that the parent voice in all our heads provide in answer to the phrase, "Why do I have to…" is, "Because I said so!"
This is a power struggle in the making, of course.
That obvious answer is rarely stated, however, because given a choice we adults like to invoke a more pervasive power on our side so the slightly cleverer answer is, "Because that's the law (or the rules)!"
Of course, even the clever answer is trite because it begs the question of why the law or the rules say so.




The parent voice defends the rules by explaining the necessity of getting a job.
The story is that you have to have a diploma and/or degree(s) to get a good job so you can act responsible by supporting yourself and your family when you become an adult.
This answer is trite because by "job" we usually mean getting a paycheck and if that's what it's all about then it is an insult to the value of human lives.




We certainly need to find our work in this world, but we are not on this earth to have a job.
We are human beings who are supposed to make a meaningful contribution to the well-being of all that we are a part: from our global ecologies; to our society; to our families, circles of friends, and organizations; to our individual body/mind; even down to the cells that make us up.
If a job is just a paycheck, then work is doing what really needs to be done in service to goodness, truth, beauty, unity, and joy (which might come with a paycheck sometimes, too.)
Having a job is less important than being a good person with meaningful work to do.
 

No comments:

Post a Comment