My column on "How to work with joy" on January 13, 2009 generated an interesting discussion among friends and family members. I did not realize that it could segue into another piece on what it means to be a human being.
My sister Maita wrote: "I think in recent years, there's been too much focus on getting leaner, and less and less attention given to people management. People have become resources just like materials and machines, and are no longer the human beings who need developing."
My brother Troy reacted to her statement by commenting that she just stated Karl Marx's theory on the alienation of the worker from his human nature.
Allan, a friend who is a lawyer and a pianist, said, "I've known quite a number of people who loved their work, or at least didn't dislike it as much as most everyone else... professional musicians and performing artists."
Stephanie, a friend who works in the United States, stated that: "Being appreciated by bosses and clients does count; but when everyone else is struggling, I think that take-home money and bonuses or tips matter more."
These comments made me realize that it is difficult, even impossible, to separate a person's career with his or her whole being. That said, I've also met people who claimed that work is work and that they can distance themselves from the iffy things that they participate in or put up with in the office. They think that the persons they are at home are different (and presumably, better) from the persons they are at work. I don't know how long they can continue believing in this. They either become the persons whose practices they disapprove of or get depressed and leave. There is no middle way.
What does it mean to be human? I guess it depends on whom we ask. I have found that those who want to appear sophisticated (or probably really are) usually cite Friedrich Nietzsche or any other existentialist. People who consider themselves experts on the Bible (or who want people to think that they are) quote passages from Ecclesiastes. Others use Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life" as the basis for their answers.
At different points of my life, I tried getting answers from the sources recommended by the persons I asked. Shortly after taking the Bar exams, I read Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning." My husband also bought me several books by Nietzsche when I asked what his college philosophy classes on "Ang Meron" were all about. I have not finished a single one.
Recently, I came across Gary Zukav's book entitled "The Seat of the Soul" and found it useful. Zukav wrote:
"What does it feel like to remember your soul's task?
When the deepest part of you becomes engaged in what you are doing, when your activities and actions become gratifying and purposeful, when what you do serves both yourself and others, when you do not tire within but seek sweet satisfaction of your life and your work, you are doing what you were meant to be doing. The personality that is engaged in the work of its soul is buoyant. It is not burdened with negativity. It does not fear. It experiences purposefulness and meaning. It delights in its work and in others. It is fulfilled and fulfilling."
I can't say that my search for answers has ended. I can only conclude the best answers come from within and therefore, would be different for each person. In my case, relating to others with love is what being human is all about. Even that sounds abstract. Maybe that's what life's journey is for: Noticing that the things we hold true, including the most abstract, are reflected in the littlest details of our lives.
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Email: lkemalilong@yahoo.com