compassion, empathy, trust and happiness: a work-life balance

Bear with me here, these are all random unstructured thoughts.

Do you love what you do? In work or in life?

Why is it important to love the work you do? At least, why is it important for me to love the work I do? The work I do is a part of my life, it is a part of who I am. The general structure of our society dictates that we are at work at least 8 hours a day, for a lot of us it’s more than that. This means that we spend more time in a day working and getting to work then we do other things, like spending time with family and loved ones or sleeping. So is it not important that for our own well being that we love what we do? Or that we do what we love?

Does money buy happiness? If time = money, and money buys you happiness, I would argue that time (not buys but) brings you happiness. Hah, the need for money vs the need for time. I would choose time every time around. Time allows you to do (or think) a lot more than money does. Money is a lame substitute for time. And those that are attracted by the lure of money are also lame. Money does not, cannot and will not buy you peace of mind. Time is not equal to money, time is far more valuable than that.

So then, why are we not happy? At work or in life? No one can be happy all the time, so why aren’t we as happy as we should be. I think it has a lot to do with a lack of compassion, empathy and trust. Think of all the conflicts you find yourself a part of, now imagine that those involved in the conflict trusted each other more, empathized with each other and were more compassionate, what would be that state of the conflict then?

I’m sure there are more concepts apart of those three that I’m missing, but in my mind those three suffice. It’s sad because we are not conditioned to trust or empathize or be as compassionate as we should be. But then, when we are, it’s often misconstrued, people start thinking things, questioning your motives. Now think of how difficult it is for someone to empathize or be compassionate when all you are doing is questioning their motives. Meh, but don’t let that phase you.

If you’re doing something good for someone and are looking for something back in return, you might as well be dealing in money instead. I’m not saying that knowing that you helped someone is a reward in and of itself (it might be though), but I’m saying, stop looking for rewards.

Clear your mind, think of nothing. If you think about nothing, then you have nothing to worry about. In our lives these nothing moments are very short and they come in different forms. A chuckle, a laugh perhaps a gasp (there are so many more), but they don’t last long. Think about what we can do to maximize those moments, think about what we can do to maximize those moments for others!

Let moments of nothingness be your motive, let them be your reward.