The work place, by the very nature of
its existence, is a place of challenges, even more so if we are self employed,
or hold a position of responsibility within an organisation. The work place brings together people of many
different backgrounds, personal circumstances, views, motivations and tolerance
thresholds and we are unlikely to encounter very many people there that we might
choose for friends and so, bearing all this in mind it can be a mistake to
allow work to become the focal point of our lives.
Left unchecked however, the influence of our place
of work can creep into the very corners of our days from the minute we have
emerged for the healing embrace of the inner levels and straight away commences
the depletion of our refreshed souls. Perhaps we become so agitated that we
cannot face food, our journey to work is fraught with concerns about timetables
and we are constantly ahead of ourselves worrying about what might happen, the
trend is set for the day. By the time we get to work we stand a very good
chance of being at breaking point already and the day has not yet even begun!
Let us further imagine that the problem that so
beset us when we awoke does not materialise, we have put ourselves through the
mill for absolutely nothing, now we experience anger at ourselves and perhaps
even just a little for the party we imagined the situation might arise with and
yet they have done nothing. Our gastric juices are unchecked by anything to
digest except ourselves and we feel great physical discomfort, tiredness,
anger, frustration and maybe even despair if this is not the first time that
this has happened. This is not an unusual scenario
to any of us I’m sure but how then do we alter this? The answer lies in
perspective, awareness and in the active manifestation of peace which will
start at the beginning of the day, whatever hour that is.
Perspective
Most of us work as a means of
sustaining ourselves, our homes and possibly families as well, very few of us
are lucky enough to be able to work for the fun of it or at a job which
consists of a personal hobby or pleasure and therein lies the perspective, work
is a means to an end and nothing more. If we carry our work worries home with
us it is no surprise that we become increasingly resentful at the creeping
notion that we live to work. There is no reason why we ought to think
constantly about worries, this happens gradually in times of adversity until
eventually it becomes a habit and habits can be changed.
It could be that we do have a problem that
needs consideration but once we have given it our best attention we need to put
it aside and continue with the art of living. Easier said than done do I hear
you say? One tip that was given to me in difficult times was to write the
problem on a piece of paper and put it safe and promise myself that I would
come straight back to it later and worry about it again then, you’d be amazed
at how well that works yet it highlights how perspective can be managed rather
than finding ourselves victims of habitual thinking, perspective is arrived at
rather than happening by chance and it is the assisted by awareness.
Awareness
Sleep is the means by which we are
restored at a deep level of our being, our bodies are without food for at least
six hours giving our digestive systems a chance to finish up the backlog and
then shut down and rest. Our conscious minds are without wakeful stimulation
and have the opportunity to work through the backlog of thoughts and then rest,
our subconscious minds do not rest in the same way as our conscious minds
though and in some ways sleep can be a very deep meditation wherein we journey
to the source of our being without the interference of the individual ego.
This is all extremely therapeutic
and should leave us refreshed and restored by the time we awake. If we were to
attempt to come out of a deep meditation with the same speed that some of us
withdraw from sleep and our beds, we wouldn’t be at all surprised to discover
that our heads didn’t feel as if they belonged to our bodies yet we do this to
ourselves. Sleep is like a deep meditation and as we become aware of the
morning, our first action before opening our eyes is to take a deep breath. We
will take more breaths and slowly become aware of the sounds around us, perhaps
a ticking clock, perhaps weather sounds like rain or wind, the sounds of
birdsong or people outside and then, when we feel ready, we will open our eyes
gently and slowly. This might not happen straight away, it is possible that
after a lifetime of getting out of bed with our eyes closed, you may find
yourself dressed before you realise what is happening and that is quite
understandable but do try again. If you discover you are dressed before your
eyes open, then take the time to sit down on the side of your bed, close your
eyes again and take your deep breaths and listen to the sounds around you etc..
This will soon become instinctive and you will find it happening quite
naturally within two weeks of trying. So if our reply to this suggestion is
that we don’t have enough time in the morning for all of this, we will consider
the benefits of changing yet another habit, our bed time. We will also consider
ending our day as it began, with awareness and a gradual closing on the day,
setting our worries aside for the night in the certain knowledge that we have
written them down and will worry about them later but for now we will sleep.
Active manifestation of peace
The first moment of our active peace
is just as we open our eyes and we choose what the first conscious thought in
our minds will be. In this choice we will not cast about in the rubbish bin of
yesterday’s thoughts and cares and rehash them when they have already been put
to rest in our sleep. We will choose a new thought, we will choose a thought of
inspiration and we do not have to look far, we are lucky in that the elements
greet us on waking every day and their soft spoken words of joy, borne on the
breeze or tapping on our window lightly in droplets, their warmth and
brightness beaming through our window, enfolding mists and cloud beckon to us
or the twinkling of the stars in the night sky, wishing we would notice them
and respond. We will return the greeting of the elements but not in spoken
words, instead we can simply allow ourselves to hear this childlike call of
laughter and joy and allow the expression of the love that wells up in our
hearts in response to that calling. In that giving and taking of love and joy,
in that beautiful communion we will become invigorated and attuned to that
which will truly sustain us through our day and, retaining that link, that
elevated inner poise will be the Earth on which we walk.
Now, we are prepared for the day
ahead, now, when we are challenged by the harsh words of someone whose day
began badly, we are able to understand them, perhaps even cajole them out of
it, spread and share our joy, our peace, a smile is very contagious. This is active
peace in action and we can re-attune ourselves to our environment in a
moment should we wish to refresh and re-orientate ourselves again. Once outside
we notice the scents around us, if we try to take notice we will detect that
rain has a definite aroma, even as it approaches and then there are the more
obvious fragrances of flowers, blossoms and hedgerows. To consciously occupy
our minds with these thoughts will train our attention away from constant
problem solving and leave us with the mental space for an inner life thus
bringing balance and harmony into our lives.
Extraordinary pressures at
work
I would now like to try to address
extraordinary pressures at work. These can vary depending on the personality
and the type of work involved. For instance, a person might be required to meet
frequent overtime or alternate work demands that do not form part of the
original contract of employment or job description. It may be that over a
period of time of our being dependable this reliability is taken for granted
and whereas at one time our workload might have been considered a special
favour, it is now greater than everyone else’s by routine. Perhaps owing to
cutbacks an employer may need to diminish the workforce yet the workload
remains the same and is redeployed amongst the remaining employees without
consultation. Perhaps the company decides to diversify, the use of toxic
materials or alternate and/or very inadequate premises to which they will not
attend.
All of these things happen and the
only way that we can resolve these difficulties properly is by giving them a
dispassionate airing to ourselves if noone else. The things that we need to
evaluate in these instances are based on our own personal criteria. Whilst
travelling might be a problem for one person, it might be a joy for another.
Whilst extra work might be overly burdensome for one, particularly if it is
heavy manual or repetitive work, it could be a source of inspiration for
another who might take delight in the workout benefits or free mental time for contemplation
and work as a devotion. We have to find the fine line that separates healthy
challenge from stress, steady progress from boredom, workout from grind down.
There is only one person who can make
those distinctions in your life and that is you. We have all heard the saying
one man’s meat is another man’s poison and it exemplifies the subjective nature
of experience. One person may be working
at a job in a charitable field and every minute of their time raises funds for
the underprivileged - in which case they are happy for the opportunity to do
more - whilst another has financial worries in their own home and every penny
raised heightens their sense of their own dilemma. Sometimes it happens that we
are too involved and can’t see the wood for the trees; then it might help to
arrange our concerns on a sheet of paper and set them off against the reasons
for our need to work at this particular job versus the possibilities of working
at a different job. In seeinghow the picture looks then, our perspective may
change and we may decide that it is worth it after all. If if we decide it is
not, perhaps we could have a word with our employer to try to renegotiate
things. It might be that what looks like an unfair workload might seem fairer
in the light if a healthier rate of pay, it might be that a resetting of the
boundaries of expectation could easily solve the dilemma of the willing
workhorse but if none of this is possible, it is time for a change.
Misplaced Forebearance
I would like to discuss what the
Buddhist call “misplaced forbearance“. It encompasses the notion of endurance
beyond what is acceptable and it is something that needs careful consideration,
inaction in this situation is wrong. Many people endure difficulty in the name
of fear of change and yet the only constant thing in the Universe is change. It is possible after working at the same job
for a long time that we have changed, that we are not the same people that we
were when we commenced the job, or that our circumstances have changed and we
no longer require what we did when we first undertook the position. If, after
careful consideration by our own criteria we decide that for whatever reason we
are unable or no longer able to secure inner peace in our workplace, then we
owe it to ourselves to change our job. This affords us the wonderful
opportunity of assessing our potential choices before embarking on our search
for fresh fields thus ensuring we don’t just end up in the same predicament at
the outset. If we have been in an office, let us consider whether we might
actually prefer to work outside, if we have been working in a responsible
position, let us consider whether we might enjoy a job with less responsibility
and yes, probably a little less pay. However - could we manage, have our
monetary requirements altered in any way or are any other members of the household
able to contribute now? The variety of
jobs available is infinite, especially if we are able to consider relocating
our home or upgrading our skill. These are all just part of a portfolio of
possibilities that can help us to grow and move into a life more in harmony
with our beliefs, more in tune with our natural selves, to live existentially
and then, we have a much better chance of achieving peace in the workplace.
JULIE MAURICE
JUNE 2008
