True Joy of Work
Once upon a time a young boy from a remote village of India wrote a poem. He
showed his first creation to his loving mother. She liked it and wholeheartedly
encouraged his son. The young boy was overjoyed. Then happened a strange thing.
He went straight to the near by river and took out the paper on which he had
written the poem. He made a paper boat out of it and happily floated it in the
river. His friends were surprised. They asked him about his strange act. With
face still overflowing with joy he said - "I wrote that poem for my own
satisfaction. I never expected that others will like it too. I do not care if
anybody else likes it or not. The joy that I gained from my creation is not
dependent on anybody's applause."
This boy later became a trusted follower of Mahatma Gandhi and well-known
social reformer - Acharya Vinoba Bhave. This story tells us a very important
fact. Many people work throughout their lives to please others. While doing so
they crave for fame and applause. When you complete a task always ask yourself -
Am I satisfied with my work? Have I done my job sincerely and wholeheartedly?
Can I take pride in signing on my work?
If answers to the above questions are no then you are slave of false pride
and applause. You are not allowing your true Self to flourish. If you cannot
justify your work with your true Self then you are cheating yourself. So, the
next time you take up any task keep this story in mind and you will see how this
change in the attitude results in a deep satisfaction and joy.
Bipin Joshi is an independent software consultant and trainer by profession specializing in Microsoft web development technologies. Having embraced the Yoga way of life he is also a yoga mentor, meditation teacher, and spiritual guide to his students. He is a prolific author and writes regularly about software development and yoga on his websites. He is programming, meditating, writing, and teaching for over 27 years. To read more about him go here. More details about his Kriya and Meditation online course are available here.