Who Are You Working For?

A question that just popped into my head this morning.  "Who do I work for?"   It seems like a fairly obvious question.   But if you think about it for more than two seconds...  it begins to get more and more complicated.  And sometimes... I enjoy blogging about complicated things. 

So.   Who am I working for?    Me!   Of course...   Right?   If I were ever working for someone else,  I would hardly work at all.  I mean,  Why should I work so hard if the other guy is the one getting more money?    

But then the follow up question would be:  "Why am I working so hard?"   Some people may say "to pay the bills!"   And I guess that would be right.   But then you find yourself working for someone else again!   And why would you work so hard just to pay bills?  Seems like a rat race to me.   Being hit by the stick if you don't work hard enough on the front end or the back end!  

So then you may ask:   "Why work at ALL?!" And there is the real nut of it.   To be able to buy food?  To be able to buy shelter?  To be able to live?   That sounds terrible!  We live only to work and survive?  Like a form of slavery...   Why live at all?

I have been around for a number of years and although I know I don't know many things...  I DO know that I know more than I did yesterday.   And definitely more than I did 30 years ago!  In those years I have went down more than my fair share of dead ends and thorny paths.  And through all of that, I have gained a certain amount of knowledge and wisdom.  The kind of life lessons that can not be taught in a classroom setting.  

One of the life lessons I have learned is that "you can't take it with you."   A cliche'  I know.  But Truth usually is clothed in the obvious. (That sounds like a cliche' too!)  I have gained and lost many things over my short amount of years here on Earth.   All of the reasons I thought I was working for... The "Stuff" and "Things" that I thought would give me purpose and meaning in life...   Are gone.  "Poof!"  And after the third time of losing everything that I held dear,  I realized that working for things is a fool's errand.  

When my Father was still alive,  He asked me to help him clean up his house and garage on our property.  Mostly it was simply clutter that my Dad had held onto for most of his life.    The moment I tried to throw some of the older, unused, or broken things out;  He would grab it out of the garbage bin and ask me why I was throwing that item away.   At one point he blurted out, 'You are throwing my life away!"   I thought that was rather telling.   Upon inquiry,  I discovered that while many of the items I found to be worthless, my Father had attached a memory to them. 

Ah Memories!   Moments in time that give us great pleasure (or sorrow)  when we look back on them.   And having items around us that remind us of those times might be the reason many of us choose to accumulate "stuff."   And work so hard so we can have those memories.  But why do we have to make it so complicated?    Memories are free!   And you will gain them with or without purchasing more "Stuff" to attach them to.  

Everyone has their own life experiences.   Their own "memories" that they can recall when they face a new challenge or unknown situations.  A person who almost drowned might forever fear the water.  While someone else who learned how to swim and gained a new skill might crave it and swim daily.   Memories are more than a simple catalog of your moments.   They are also life lessons that you gain as you trudge through your time here.    And best of all....  You can share them!

But getting back to the topic at hand:  Who are we working for?  And why are we working so hard?  Many parents might say they are working for their Family.   That seems noble!  Making sure your Family has enough to eat and a safe and warm place to live seems like the kind of goal that everyone should have.  But in the end,  they are still working for "others."   The difference is that they can see first hand the faces of the "others" every day when they come home.  The kitchen table is lined with "others" that are not you...  Yet these people you care  about!   Enough to be willing to work long hours at some job to be able to provide for them.  Why?   

Perhaps it is Human nature to want to help family.   I'm sure you must first "Help Yourself" to be able to help others.   But helping Family is one of the things that seem to benefit  you as well as them.   Call it a sense of fulfillment.   

There are many ways to help others that are not simply throwing money at them. Sharing time and knowledge with people can help them avoid the pitfalls that you stumbled into.  Offering a second set of hands when someone is moving might make their life a little easier and safer while giving you a sense of pride.  Just by being a decent person might make someone else's day go by a little smoother. 

Taking stock in what you have that are truly yours:  Your Body.  Your Memories.   May help you focus on the important reasons why you work and toil at a job that pays you for your time and labor.  To find happiness.   To find Purpose?  To work your way through the story line that is your life as you write it with your actions and decisions.  And how you spend that capital of memories and experiences is entirely up to you.  Because the wisdom and knowledge you share benefits everyone. 

So who do you work for?  How about God?  He is everywhere and in all things, right?  By working in this world He set up, you honor Him by passing on your experiences and knowledge to the next generation.   That helps to grow humanity and I'm sure it gives God a bit of pride each time we as Humans, progress to the next level of life.  Like a Father watching his Son learn to walk, talk, ride a bike, score a goal, get married, and have kids of his own...A grand sense of pride and happiness!

I know "working for God" might seem intangible for some.  Or they might outright dismiss it as "working for the Man!" and feel the same level of contempt as working for a faceless corporation.  I'm not sure how to get to those people other than trying to show gratitude everyday with what you do.  Gratitude for your time here on Earth.   Gratitude for the acquaintances you have made while at your job and the money that the job provides.   Gratitude with the opportunity to show up and have a purpose...  No matter how small! To be able to help push humanity forward...  Even if it is only by a few inches.   

And mostly to be grateful for His plan of Salvation.    Because life is short!  And every second counts.