Absorption in meaningful work
The renowned author Sally Kempton writes in this month's Yoga Journal in an article titled "...if it feels good..." about "Embrace (ing) life's pleasures - they have the potential to lead you to the highest of joys: inhabiting your true Self". That line caught my eye, so I read further, and came across another line that 'hit' me. This one was on the "pleasure of absorption in meaningful work". Really?
Her writing reminded me of very dear and special, enjoyment - or were they fulfillment? - experiences related to deep, meaningful work in and with a team. She writes: "the total dedication of every faculty to something that felt vitally important not only enabled them to be genuinely helpful but also keyed them (people referred to in the article) into an experience of pleasure as intense as any they had ever known."
And she continues: "The yogic practice for accessing this level of pleasure is to do what you do for the sake of the task itself, rather than for the sake of recognition or approval. ...'You have the right to the action itself, but not to its fruits.' It's one of the laws of life that when you work for recognition rather than for the work itself, you can never get real pleasure from what you're doing. The pleasure comes from the willingness to make an effort in the cause of something greater than your immediate comfort, and to make that effort for its own sake".
Notice that this points to not depending on the outside and its valuation and judgement of one's actions. The theme of dependence is all over it. "I will feel good - or terrible - depending on what you judge (me) my action to be (me). So here I am salivating in waiting for your nod of approval and thus acceptance of me, and if you don't, I am really in a bind, for I am not good at all...for a moment, for and till I try again, or you - after having sensed my need - put out a 'carrot' for me to go after, again".
Can you sense the desperation of this stance?
So, what if instead we...
..."do what we do for the sake of the task itself"...having the "willingness to make an effort...and to make that effort for its own sake... in the cause of something greater than (you) your (- our -) immediate comfort...and then, forget about "its fruits". That would be "novel".
Isn't that what is otherwise known as ...freedom?
Her writing reminded me of very dear and special, enjoyment - or were they fulfillment? - experiences related to deep, meaningful work in and with a team. She writes: "the total dedication of every faculty to something that felt vitally important not only enabled them to be genuinely helpful but also keyed them (people referred to in the article) into an experience of pleasure as intense as any they had ever known."
And she continues: "The yogic practice for accessing this level of pleasure is to do what you do for the sake of the task itself, rather than for the sake of recognition or approval. ...'You have the right to the action itself, but not to its fruits.' It's one of the laws of life that when you work for recognition rather than for the work itself, you can never get real pleasure from what you're doing. The pleasure comes from the willingness to make an effort in the cause of something greater than your immediate comfort, and to make that effort for its own sake".
Notice that this points to not depending on the outside and its valuation and judgement of one's actions. The theme of dependence is all over it. "I will feel good - or terrible - depending on what you judge (me) my action to be (me). So here I am salivating in waiting for your nod of approval and thus acceptance of me, and if you don't, I am really in a bind, for I am not good at all...for a moment, for and till I try again, or you - after having sensed my need - put out a 'carrot' for me to go after, again".Can you sense the desperation of this stance?
So, what if instead we...
..."do what we do for the sake of the task itself"...having the "willingness to make an effort...and to make that effort for its own sake... in the cause of something greater than (you) your (- our -) immediate comfort...and then, forget about "its fruits". That would be "novel".
Isn't that what is otherwise known as ...freedom?
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