The Work
THE WORK = to exert oneself physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually in sustained effort for a purpose; expending labor in some useful way
QUESTION: Are you familiar with “THE WORK”?
STORY: Everyday requires effort. We wake up, get out of bed, go to the bathroom, get dressed, sit with our cup of coffee and then we move forward into our day. Some people are beginning to wonder: “Is this all there is to life?” This question propelled me to travel across the country many years ago searching for a Gurdjieff teacher and a 4th Way School. Fortunately, I found The Prosperos. People who get curious are the people who are ready to do “THE WORK”. THE WORK is suffering to see your ego (mechanical self) in action and to open up to Higher True Self capacities of LOVE and Consciousness. Fly effort is the attempt to observe ourselves in our habitual ego-reactions. Elephant effort is observing ourselves and the world around us without judgment. A clear and higher power is released in us when we observe ourselves and others without judgment. Learn more: https://www.drawingtogether.com/workchamber
QUOTE
“Work is conscious, intentional inner labor to observe myself as I am without judgment or trying to change what is observed.” ~ Red Hawk
“Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it.” ~ Stephen Hawking
“The beginning is the most important part of the work.” ~ Plato
“What you need to do is think of work as "vocation." This word may seem stilted in its tone, but it has a wisdom within it. It comes from the Latin word for calling, which comes from the word for voice. In those meanings it touches on what work really should be. It should be something that calls to you as something you want to do, and it should be something that gives voice to who you are and what you want to say to the world.” ~ Kent Nerburn in Letters To My Son: Reflections on Becoming a Man by Kent Nerburn
EXERCISE
STOP.
Sit quietly. Assume an erect posture.
Sense the breath.
Sit calmly and contemplate where your life is working - and where it is not working.
Get your pen and paper and write words or draw lines expressing your ego habits and your higher capacities.
Move forward into your day with a willingness to do “THE WORK”.