Pathlight : What is the Most Important Work?

Written by Annie Wenger-Nabigon Ph.D., RSW on 25 February 2015

Annie Wenger-Nabigon, Author of Pathlight: Living the good life

“Work is love made visible”. Kahlil Gibran

Here in northern Ontario we are frozen in a snowy cold that makes getting out of the house a major work project. Some of us would prefer to stay in hibernation mode like our brothers and sisters the bears! Recently on a very bright sunny day I took my dog Maccabee out for a little run with the kick sled and came home exhausted and sweating. Imagine that! Sweating when it is -28C out there! It was definitely work a work of love that makes a lot of happiness.

Working at something that was so much fun got me started thinking: what is the most important work someone could do? What are my intentions for working, what am I working towards, and how can I work in ways that bring me closer to what I want in life? Am I the only one who thinks these kinds of thoughts?

It is my belief that in an ideal world, no one ever works a day in their life! If everyone could do what they love doing, would it really be work? Or would it be as satisfying and thrilling as a 30 minute run with my dog and the kick sled? Who was happier: my dog or I? I couldn’t say, but I can definitely say it was work that deeply satisfied and challenged us both.

Here are some other questions I have about work: what is our work? where do we work? when do we work? Who do we work for/with? how do we work? Is it worth our effort? Will answering all these questions lead us to understand why we work?

Almost everyone I know holds tight to the following beliefs:

work is important and necessary and a sign of strength, responsibility and character
work is the best way to get money and money is necessary in order to have what we need and want – it opens doors to opportunities
people who don’t work at a job and earn money have something wrong with them

Hardly anyone I know holds the following beliefs:

meaningful activity that contributes to the greater good can be done without “working”
working “smarter” is better than working “harder”
work which damages the earth and gives nothing back is not worth doing
abundance is not represented by how much money you have or how many things you buy

Recently I went to Schreiber, ON, where I heard Dr. Gordon Edwards[1] talk about Nuclear Waste Management. It was work to listen to him working! I learned a lot. The information he shared showed me how serious this problem of nuclear waste is, especially for folks in northern Ontario where a permanent nuclear waste storage facility is being pushed. Some people say it will create work for people who need to have a way to earn a living, buy things, and pay the hydro. Others point out that it will create risks that would affect over 80 million people around the Great Lakes region, and bring intrusive surveillance and security systems to guard the waste. Our freedoms and safety to enjoy camping, hiking, hunting, fishing and other recreation will be greatly restricted regardless or the risks and benefits.

Where did we humans get the idea that we have to work to earn a living? I understand that we cannot eat, and have shelter, clothing and other things, if we do not put effort into creating these things for ourselves. But that is not the same as saying we have to get money from working at a job that poisons our environment. There are MANY ways of sharing the abundance of the Earth.

For thousands of years humans lived together in small, intimate groups where everyone made an effort together to sustain life. It wasn’t work – it was LIFE! There were no jobs, no employers, no nuclear power plants, and no waste materials that would poison the earth, water, land and air for millions of years!

How did we get to this place?! What is going to happen to the future of our world if we humans do not do the hard work of love and stop the production of poisonous waste, poisonous beliefs, and poisonous work? What are the things we need to attend to in order to live in ways that contribute to health and growth and sustainable relationships instead of working in self-destructive “jobs”? How can we restore meaningful contributions by all people in a community of sharing and responsible management of resources which belong to the Earth?

The Earth shares abundance with us, and we do not have to work to receive it – we just have to recognize it and manage it responsibly. We have to make an effort to sustain the abundance, an effort to benefit from it responsibly, and share it with everyone without hoarding it in a way that creates wealth only for a few. We have to work together in ways that do not cause damage.

We humans don’t have much time left to engage in this work. The Earth is changing and the abundance is slowly disappearing and being poisoned. It is time to do the hard work of love – to “make love visible” as the poet Gibran has said so wisely. THAT is work anyone can do – from an armchair or a bedside table. It may cost you some sweat and some tears, and it won’t earn you dollars to take to the bingo hall, but it will be a meaningful contribution to the human family. We can talk with our neighbors and elected leaders about how to sustain the abundance we have all around us. We can resolve to put some sweat and effort into our intentions to keep our environment healthy. We can learn again how to share. THAT is work worth doing! THAT is deeply satisfying and rewarding.

[1] Gordon Edwards is from the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility. He can be contacted at: ccnr@web.ca

Annie Wenger-Nabigon, MSW, RSW
Pathlight@OntarioNewsNorth.com

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ANNIE RECOMMENDS:

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Author of Pathlight; Annie Wenger-Nabigon, MSW, RSW is originally from the U.S., earning her Canadian Citizenship in 2013. Annie & her Husband live in Pic River First Nation. Annie Wenger-Nabigon, MSW, RSW has been a cinical social worker since 1979 working in mental health, family therapy, and addictions services. She is a doctoral candidate at Laurentian University in Sudbury, ON. She works full-time as an Adult Mental Health and Addictions Therapist at the Marathon office of North of Superior Counseling Programs. Annie also works part-time as a consultant for LYNX, owned by her husband Herb Nabigon, MSW. Herb provides traditional Anishnabek teachings and healing workshops for both Native and non-Native organizations. Together he and Annie provide training and education to professionals on a wide range of topics blending mainstream and traditional approaches in healing. They also provide cultural safety and anti-racism training.

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