Labor of Love

Work is Love made visible -- Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

Today, as you read this, perhaps you are taking your break from an endless number of chores or tasks you have started or about to finish. I sense the feeling of being unproductive, despite doing a lot and spending great amount of effort, time and money. For the longest time you have believed that the things you do can bring you more meaning and purpose in your life. And you often equate this meaning with a brilliant career, a new set of skills, a fantastic relationship, or any expensive material possession. They are all good at their ends. Yet after achieving a few of them, if not all, you still feel the void. Something is looming, waiting to be discovered. It's a black hole of uncertainty. And it remains untouchable, and you are driven away by that fear that might sweep your life off your feet.

Why is it that even if you do things, you still have that feeling of being adrift in the ocean of the unknown. You have been asking yourself "What's next?" a lot of times, and trying to have fun or hooking yourself up to something enjoyable and addictive so you don't bother yourself answering that very difficult question. Because deep inside, whatever things you do remains empty, until such time you take the risk of discovering the answer way beyond the predictability of your life. There is more to do, but that thing is more than just any backbreaking stuff. It is more of an undertaking that neither your career nor your possessions can equal, yet both of them provide the tools you need to accomplish it.

Why not rethink your life right now? Why not see it again in a larger different perspective? In retrospect, try to see what you have worked for and what you have accomplished. Embrace all those things you did and had in the past, and those that you presently do and have. See all those failures and blunders and mistakes as part of your learning process. And see your small successes and big achievements not just rewards, but keys to the meaningful and purposeful life you are about to commit. You are here not as an organism of random biological processes. You are not here by accident in a seemingly unfriendly world. You are not alone in this vast universe waiting for your certain death. While life is full of suffering, it is in the realization of it that makes life more joyful. This is what you need to accomplish. To live your life full of joy, going above any pain and pleasure. But the question is, "How?"

Seeing the worth of your Soul is where you start. You don't need any credentials, or implements, or possessions, or rewards to fill in this inner space of worth that you often think as a void. You need not to capitalize on what you have or what you do, but on what you ARE. By the virtue of being a human, you are enough. To realize your worth without judging yourself against the standard of this world is the beginning of your true Soulwork. This is where the "next" comes in.

In this way, you are reliving again your Life as conscious as possible. You are not anymore an automaton who follows what the world dictates you to do. You are not just a rank-and-file jobber who is often measured by the things you do or have. You cannot be deterred in fulfilling your true life simply by being compared or prejudiced. Because you are precious enough to be you, and from being you, you can open yourself to the wide breadth of your potential. You can now begin to put grander meaning to everything you have, for they are the tools you can use to fulfill your purpose. You can see that the things you do are not just mechanical duties, but your great endeavor done little by little, adding to the magnificent scheme of inner and outer possibilities. Your Soul is doing a great job in allowing the Universe to reveal itself to you, simply by making yourself revealed in full awareness, of showing that you are conscious enough to see yourself as a work and product of Love. Each thing you hold is empowered with your Love. Each thing you create becomes Love. Whatever that is, it becomes an instrument of Love.

You are not anymore trading your blood, sweat and tears off. There is no need to die for any strenuous and stressful work. Because everything you do leads you to a fuller life. What you do is done with Love, a wordless prayer that expressed through your hands, a faith that is worth a thousand labor. Being you is a labor of Love. This is enough.