It Happened Today

“Don't wish me happiness
I don't expect to be happy all the time...
It's gotten beyond that somehow.
Wish me courage and strength and a sense of humor.
I will need them all.”
Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift from the Sea


Monday, September 7, 2015

LABOR OF LOVE

"Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country." dol.gov

Since June 1894 Labor Day has been a legal holiday thanks to Congressional Legislation. The day is typically observed by parades, picnics, and rest from the very labor of which is being celebrated.

Martin Luther King once said, "If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, go out and sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures. Sweep streets like Handel and Beethoven composed music. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say, here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.”

We probably all know the saying, "Do what you love. Love what you do." 


I am blessed to work in a profession where the rewards of the labor are far greater than imaginable. They are not monetary. They are personal. The physical, emotional, and mental toll the job requires are vast but worth it. It is a twelve month, seven day a week labor of love. It has to be. 

Yes, there are perks. The business is closed on federal holidays. There is ample time off for winter, spring, and summer vacations. Inside the buildings there is always a good amount of playing, laughter, and singing. There is also always things to be learned. Every moment of every day people are learning. 

My business is education. My building is a school. The people I work with are teachers. Our Labor is done with great love.

" Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, "They don't pay me to like the kids." Her response: "Kids don't learn from people they don’t like.’” A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level." Ted.com

And I bet that today, Labor Day, the people that I work with will be working, planning, and preparing for another day, another week, another moment where their labor can be felt by the people they work for, the people for which they care. For it is with the love and care of what you do that one can really make a difference. 

Happy Labor Day,

Magda

A truly inspirational TED talk by Rita Pierson


No comments:

Post a Comment