We are taught wrong

We are taught to exist only in service to others. To work as if we are shaped by the very existence of this work. As if work itself is sacred, in a form of self-expression. Of boundless plenitude. We are taught the noble act of erasing the self in service of others. That it is the right thing to do. That setting boundaries while healthy is going to lead us into trouble.

But this is where our troubles really begin.

In erasing our want, desires and personalities to serve the… greater good. No longer “I want”. But rather, “We need”. And this reverberates way beyond just what happens within the family. Our workplaces have taught us to believe we are easily replaceable with others willing to work for scraps in a endless race to the bottom of the barrel.

The irony is that this industrialist-capitalistic model is just the precursor to a much much older one.

Feudalism.

Where the lord of a city controlled trade, goods and the well-fare of the peasant population that were working for them.

Today, we have willingly erased our face, identity and even voice to allow indentured servitude that prohibits us to voice our dislikes the same way feudal lords used to quell rebellions. By using the threat of taking away the dignity of earning a living at the same time as making us thing that through working for them, we are gaining meaning, have an identity and are part of a tribe.

But here is what should give you pause for thought. We are not just what we do. We are not just the people we serve, and we most definitely should not tie or identity and existence to the tasks we perform.

Life is nonlinear. It leads you through various odd places and situations you never thought you’d be in. Being able to survive, and BE in absence of your job, is something we should all be able to do. Jobs are there to provide sustenance and allow us a lifestyle. They are NOT what defines us.

Today I might be a designer. Tomorrow ? I might be a plumber or electrician. Because I am not my job, and because my family cares little about what I do, but more about how I spend my time with them. If they have a roof above their heads. If food is on the table, and if I am healthy.

I will do my job to the best possible extent that circumstances will allow me. But I will never be my job.

Ever.