Mirth and Motivation

“There is honor in all work, in all tasks, but take it one step further. Make what you do a labor of love. Then your work will truly touch and change the world in the way you desire. The work you do, whatever your chosen field, will be work that heals.” Melody Beattie

Motivation Mondays: LABOR of LOVE

As we celebrate Labor Day, we honor the men and women who fought tirelessly for workers’ rights, which are so critical to our strong and successful labor force. Elizabeth Esty
Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies. Mother Teresa
A garden requires patient labor and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them. Liberty Hyde Bailey

What do you know about Labor Day?  Aside from the important Labor history that shaped the world of work and opened doors for women, immigrants and countless others who have been sidelined over the years, this day marks the celebration and collective effort of workers and the laws/lawmakers and activists who fought to ensure that we remain safe at our workplaces, that children are not forced to work and that adults are not relegated to work in dingy unsafe settings for dreadfully low wages. This year, we celebrate it the day before the International Day of Charity. It makes perfect sense because Mother Teresa served the poor as a labor of love and her legacy continues to shine for so many workers around the world; especially those who work in thankless jobs and don’t seek the limelight for their effort.

On a less serious note, in the USA, Labor Day Weekend forces us to shift gears from our languid summer escapades, to a return to work mode, and focus on the impending Fall season. It sets the tone serving us notice that summer has ended and that new rules will soon apply. Labor Day marks the end of wearing white in some circles; the start of football season; the time to pack away summer things and do fall dusting and unpacking; watch the changing colors of falling foliage; a time to plan for Thanksgivings dinners, Christmas holiday shopping and other things that will soon take up our time… It is also a time for reflection on what the world of paid and voluntary work mean to us and how we can all serve each other better. Study the nature of problems in your community and think of how you can help.

A Story: Study The Nature Of The Problem To Solve It
A lion was taken into captivity and thrown into a concentration camp where, to his amazement, he found other lions who had been there for years, some of them all their lives, for they had been born there. He soon became acquainted with the social activities of the camp lions. They banded themselves into groups.
One group consisted of the socializers; another was into show business; another was cultural, for its purpose was to carefully preserve the customs, the tradition, and the history of the times when lions were free; other groups were religious — they gathered mostly to sing moving songs about a future jungle where there would be no fences; some groups attracted those who were literary and artistic by nature; others still were revolutionary, and they met to plot against their captors or against other revolutionary groups. Every now and then a revolution would breakout, one particular group would be wiped out by another, or the guards would all be killed and replaced by another set of guards.
As he looked around, the newcomer observed one lion who always seemed deep in thought, a loner who belonged to no group and mostly kept away from everyone. There was something strange about him that commanded everyone’s admiration and everyone’s hostility, for his presence aroused fear and self-doubt. He said to the newcomer, “Join no group. These poor fools are busy with everything except what is essential.”
“And what do you think is most essential?” asked the newcomer.
“Studying the nature of the fence.” via Zen Stories

“The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.” Mother Teresa

Monday Motivations: Labor of Love & International Day of Charity

Motivation Mondays: LABOR of LOVE

Without labor nothing prospers. Sophocles
It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.” Theodore Roosevelt
Patience; accomplish thy labor; accomplish thy work of affection!
Sorrow and silence are strong, and patient endurance is godlike.
Therefore accomplish thy labor of love, till the heart is made godlike,
Purified, strengthened, perfected, and rendered more worthy of heaven.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

What do you know about International Day of Charity? Did you know that it is the day after  Labor Day  this year?. International Day of Charity was established in 2012 by the United Nations Organization as a way to sensitize people to the issues of poverty worldwide, and also as a way to recognize the works and deeds of Mother Teresa of Calcutta who served the poor throughout her lifetime and passed away on September 5, 1997. Mother Teresa was canonized as a Saint last year and this year, we will celebrate both her death and her recognition as a modern day Saint in our world.  She will now be celebrated every year on September 5th as Saint Teresa of Calcutta MC. It makes perfect sense to me because when we labor and share the benefits of our work, we take an important step by offering help to those in need. Charity and Labor go hand in hand and are great qualities that we all want to have; to provide for our loved ones and to give back to our communities. On this auspicious day of recognizing the role both play in the lives of a community, a nation, and globally, we can recommit ourselves to help sustain each other through volunteering, working hard, and giving back.
READ: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF CHARITY: 5 WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

A Story: The Charity We Extend Comes Back Tenfold. via my family. EOF
My paternal grandmother raised my dad alone after her husband died suddenly of a heart attack. They were poor farmers, in a West African village, who saw the arrival of  European missionaries up-end their lives at the turn of the 20th Century. When her hubby passed away, my Grandma sent her youngest son to the only school in a nearby village. It was a Missionary school that educated a handful of boys, sent by bold parents, in a fractious climate that didn’t encourage education as a way out of poverty. Many locals were against the missionaries who were determined to force people to abandon traditional practices and Ancestral worship for a new Christian order. With the Missionaries came laws on taxation and village leaders were also against the imposition of tax levies on communities that were barely eking out a living to support their families. So you can imagine that, in such a tense climate of imminent and eventual change, education was not available to all or even considered a road out of poverty. The missionary school was free and was offered to the community as a charitable effort to gain trust. Still, many turned away from it because they couldn’t imagine how an education would help grow their crops or raise their farm animals.

My Grandma, out of desperation to support her family, took a chance and sent her youngest son to the school. He was eager to learn and she was eager to find a path out of poverty.  As she struggled, others in the village rallied to support and encourage her and  became equally invested in seeing my Dad succeed. My dad stayed in school, holding onto the community’s dream of a better life. He received an education that led him down the path to entering the world of Accountancy, Banking and eventually Government.  As his career path expanded, he took up the role of  benefactor and helped educate many in our village. He never forgot the goodwill and charity that was extended to him as a little boy and repaid it tenfold.  We often forget that the hand that feeds one, creates an opportunity for many more hands to feed others. When we act charitably towards others, we benefit as much as the receiver of our philanthropy.

The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for AUG/SEPT 2017 are:

AUGUST

08/06 –  01 National Girlfriend Day
08/13 –  06 Friendship Day, 12 International Youth Day
08/20 –  19 World Humanitarian Day
08/27 –  26 National Dog Day

SEPTEMBER 

09/04 – Labor Day,
09/10 – TBA
09/17 – TBA
07/24 – TBA
09/30 – Yom Kippur

Are You Looking for Ways to Stay Creative in 2017?

– Join the Daily Post Post-a-day or Post-a-week Challenge.

— Join the BlogHer Writing Lab

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