Our jobs: our opportunity to make a difference!
I find, if I want to be a spiritual person, it does not mean that I have to quit my job, and start the process to become ordained or spend my life volunteering. Well, yes, volunteering is noble and good. However, I think, it is neither the only way to live a spiritual life, nor by itself sufficient.
When I listen to what people complain about the most, to what many of us think is a problem in our community, our country, it always is something like “the government”, “the big corporations”, “the school system”, “the churches”, “the politicians”, or a similar entity.
Interestingly, these entities are not things from outer space, nor some kind of natural disaster. No, most of the time, when we complain about something it is about a group of people! Just as we complain about them, some other people complain about the groups of people that you and I belong to.
You have a profession, a job. And there are many people who blame these for the one or other bad situation.
Hm. Simple reasoning would then require me to do something about exactly these situations. Either change what I am doing, and no longer contribute to that bad thing happening. Or, help educate people in my surrounding about why I and my colleagues are doing what we are doing, even though people are complaining about it.
So, for example, when I hear somebody complaining about “programmers” (which happens to be how I make a living), I first try to listen and understand what they are really complaining about. More often than not, it is a real problem that they are lamenting of. If, instead, I were to get defensive immediately, I'd surely miss the point. If I listen, I have a chance to understand. Once I understand, I can ponder ways how I can adjust my actions as programmer to reduce the likelihood that I am producing cause for just that lament. I can also discuss that issue with colleagues, and provide an opportunity for them to realize the problem too, and adjust their actions, too.
At the same time, after I listened to the person, who is hurting due to what “programmers” do, and after having made sure, that she/he feels heard and understood, I can try to provide some information that shows all the choices and their consequences. Sometimes, understanding the why, helps tolerate the what, even if it is uncomfortable. And sometimes, having a better picture allows him/her to understand that the status quo is actually the best of the available options.
However, most often it really is an issue, that I didn't see, or didn't think was such a nuisance. Listening and trying to understand, instead of trying to defend, allows me to identify and work on issues, that are in need for improvement.
Imagine how much better this world would be already, if we all would go and try to improve what we are doing as part of our regular job, our regular life. This has nothing to do with spirituality – it is just plain common sense.
Now, if I add the spirituality aspect to this, can you imagine, how big my positive impact can be, if I not just go and react to complaints I hear, but actually proactively try to re-evaluate each one of my actions and inactions, behaviors and attitude? I am an expert in my field. I know what approaches and tools are available, what could be done differently. By identifying issues myself, before anybody is negatively impacted, I can save others from experiencing displeasure.
Imagine if we all were doing this! Hot-water pipes from the boiler to the shower would be insulated. There would be no more inefficient, wasteful top-loading washing machines. Car owners could take their cars to be fixed at car-dealership without being ripped off. There would be no more lines in front of ladies rooms, as there would be sufficient numbers of stalls. No more sweat shops, as nobody would take advantage of their services. No more office-building doors that don't close well, wasting energy and causing receptionists to freeze to death in the winter...
I think, half of all the misery in this world would automatically disappear!
I think there is a third step possible, that would help us make this world a better place. The first step is to listen for complaints about what I do. The second step is to try to act more according to what I think is good.
The third step is to try to improve my spiritual understanding, so that “what I think is good” really is good. As long as I think spanking my child is a good way of teaching her/him, I won't be able to stop the abuse. As long as I think it is cool to drive a big SUV, I won't opt for a fuel-efficient car. As long as I think it is the right of a supervisor to control and manipulate my employees, I won't be able to be a good manager.
To summarize, I suggest, that this world will be a much better place, if each one of us works on:
When I listen to what people complain about the most, to what many of us think is a problem in our community, our country, it always is something like “the government”, “the big corporations”, “the school system”, “the churches”, “the politicians”, or a similar entity.
Interestingly, these entities are not things from outer space, nor some kind of natural disaster. No, most of the time, when we complain about something it is about a group of people! Just as we complain about them, some other people complain about the groups of people that you and I belong to.
You have a profession, a job. And there are many people who blame these
Hm. Simple reasoning would then require me to do something about exactly these situations. Either change what I am doing, and no longer contribute to that bad thing happening. Or, help educate people in my surrounding about why I and my colleagues are doing what we are doing, even though people are complaining about it.
So, for example, when I hear somebody complaining about “programmers” (which happens to be how I make a living), I first try to listen and understand what they are really complaining about. More often than not, it is a real problem that they are lamenting of. If, instead, I were to get defensive immediately, I'd surely miss the point. If I listen, I have a chance to understand. Once I understand, I can ponder ways how I can adjust my actions as programmer to reduce the likelihood that I am producing cause for just that lament. I can also discuss that issue with colleagues, and provide an opportunity for them to realize the problem too, and adjust their actions, too.
At the same time, after I listened to the person, who is hurting due to what “programmers” do, and after having made sure, that she/he feels heard and understood, I can try to provide some information that shows all the choices and their consequences. Sometimes, understanding the why, helps tolerate the what, even if it is uncomfortable. And sometimes, having a better picture allows him/her to understand that the status quo is actually the best of the available options.
However, most often it really is an issue, that I didn't see, or didn't think was such a nuisance. Listening and trying to understand, instead of trying to defend, allows me to identify and work on issues, that are in need for improvement.
Imagine how much better this world would be already, if we all would go and try to improve what we are doing as part of our regular job, our regular life. This has nothing to do with spirituality – it is just plain common sense.
Now, if I add the spirituality aspect to this, can you imagine, how big my positive impact can be, if I not just go and react to complaints I hear, but actually proactively try to re-evaluate each one of my actions and inactions, behaviors and attitude? I am an expert in my field. I know what approaches and tools are available, what could be done differently. By identifying issues myself, before anybody is negatively impacted, I can save others from experiencing displeasure.
Imagine if we all were doing this! Hot-water pipes from the boiler to the shower would be insulated. There would be no more inefficient, wasteful top-loading washing machines. Car owners could take their cars to be fixed at car-dealership without being ripped off. There would be no more lines in front of ladies rooms, as there would be sufficient numbers of stalls. No more sweat shops, as nobody would take advantage of their services. No more office-building doors that don't close well, wasting energy and causing receptionists to freeze to death in the winter...
I think, half of all the misery in this world would automatically disappear!
I think there is a third step possible, that would help us make this world a better place. The first step is to listen for complaints about what I do. The second step is to try to act more according to what I think is good.
The third step is to try to improve my spiritual understanding, so that “what I think is good” really is good. As long as I think spanking my child is a good way of teaching her/him, I won't be able to stop the abuse. As long as I think it is cool to drive a big SUV, I won't opt for a fuel-efficient car. As long as I think it is the right of a supervisor to control and manipulate my employees, I won't be able to be a good manager.
To summarize, I suggest, that this world will be a much better place, if each one of us works on:
- improving my behavior based on feedback from others, instead of defending my actions
- improving my impact by behaving in the way I know I should, instead of how I think others want me to (traditions, customs, habits, peer-pressure, group-thinking....)
- improving my behavior by improving my spiritual understanding, by putting more focus on searching, learning, and understanding my impact on this creation and my purpose here on this world
To make this word a better place, I don't need to do anything special. All I need to do is to use my job and my everyday regular life to create the changes I would like to see in this world...
Labels: Applying spirituality, New Approach
posted by Thomas | 11:22 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home