Metaphors for Work

 I've spent the whole week working and now when it comes to my weekly blog article, I'm going to write about -- work. But I've written a lot about work in the past. So is there still something left for me to write about?

Now, what does Kahlil Gibran say about work? Here's a quote:

When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.
And I truly agree with that. Work is sometimes such difficult labour, especially during this difficult time of the pandemic, when work is actually a matter of life and death.  Having work is a blessing and a boon to one's mental health. 
I work all day because my current job demands it. On a weekday I work continuously from nine to at least 11 at night. I don't break for lunch and I probably sneak in an hour for dinner in between. Even when I'm having dinner, I take peeks at my laptop to see if there are incoming emails and chat messages. It's a tough job but I see every day as an opportunity to learn something new.
At the end of my work day, I'd usually ask myself: what did I learn today? If not about the subject matter of your work, you always learn something about yourself. Always do an ego check. It's the cause of most work-related problems. 
After I close shop, I'd write in my journal, sometimes enjoy a cool beer. And the whole thing repeats itself again the following day. A weekend comes, a blog article like this is written, and after an anxious Sunday, it's Monday again. That's my worklife during this pandemic, which has raged on for more than a year now.
If you've read my old articles about work, you'll know that I associate the following words to it: worship, workout and penance. In a way, work allows you to kill three birds with one stone. Let me explain.
Work is a form of worship because it is a spiritual act of reverence. You are going through a repetitive ritual, in service of a higher goal. Or at least that's how I would approach work. You are not worshiping the company that you work for nor are you kissing your boss's ass. When you worship, you put your ego aside. You bow in humility and you see your work as a higher cause. Never mind if your job is a mundane one. All work is noble, because in the end, you are the one that would benefit most from your labour.
Which brings me to the second metaphor I often use for work: workout. Work is a form of exercise to improve your mind and body. At the end of a hard day's work, you can be assured that you are a fitter person than you were at the start of the day. Exercise is not labour, even though it can be exhausting.  Working out everyday only makes you healthier. And after a hard day's work, you sleep like a baby.
Why is work also a form of penance? This is the most interesting of the three metaphors. No matter how much you love your job, you would still encounter painful moments during the course of your work day. It could be criticism about your work, it could be dissatisfaction with the performance of a subordinate or an unreasonably difficult customer. There's always pain in work. The way to take this pain, is to see it as a form of penance. Take it head-on and see it as a form of healing. Pain only arises because you are challenged and bruised in some way inside. Examine the pain. Understand why it arises. Soften the hardness inside. You will find that if you confront pain as a form of penance, it does some magic to your soul. 
There in a nutshell is my whole philosophy about work. Blogging is the fun work that I do every weekend. It has elements of all three metaphors. Blogging is 'painful' because writing is not an easy task. You have to think of something to write about; you have to be coherent about the ideas you are expounding and in my case, there's a dateline to meet. But at the end of the article, I feel truly rewarded. Worship, workout and penance -- all three of them checked and done for the week.