It's funny how we spend our lives repeating words without really understanding what they mean, how they were formed, their etymology. When we look a little at the origin and formation of words with their prefixes, suffixes, radicals and whatever else, we can be deeply surprised.
I like this analysis and, many times, I look for this origin to understand exactly what we are talking about.
Well, the subject today is work, the word work and its meaning for us. In March I had the opportunity to see a lecture that called my attention to this analysis.
It seems that among Latin languages ​​such as Portuguese, Spanish and French, the word originates from “tripalium”, the name given to an instrument of torture used for animals and people. In Italian, it is associated with tiredness. In German the word relates to slavery.
Whatever the language, the word “work” is associated with something tiring, obligatory, that demands a lot of effort, servitude; ultimately torture.
In the same lecture, it was suggested that the word work be replaced by service, that is, to be of service, to serve a purpose.
Okay, the words are quite close, “work for” or “serve to” bring with them the idea of ​​something painful. And how about we seek a new look at our perceptions about work and serving? Perhaps we can reduce the weight given to the activities we perform.
We know that many people perceive work in exactly this way, as a burden, a huge weight, because they do not find any meaning in what they are doing. We also know that this is a reality that is in the interests of many companies and employers who, because they do not understand the importance of those who serve them, make working more and more arduous.
On the other hand, we have people whose work, service and activities are a true source of energy for life. So much so that many people feel completely lost, without courage and without direction when their productive possibility is restricted.
Work involves dignity, makes us belong, brings man to his essence, brings meaning to life and should be a source of creativity and bring joy to the heart. It should make a person jump out of bed with a smile on their face knowing that each day is yet another opportunity to serve and grow.
A new era is arriving on our planet, many things are changing dramatically and I believe that this relationship with work cannot be spared in these new times.
We have already heard that in a few years, many of the professions we know will not exist and will give way to new ones, which we still can't imagine what they are.
More and more we see young people who have sought to do jobs that offer them not only a salary, but also the possibility of extracting from this activity the joyful energy that is very close to gratitude and love.
The compassionate economy, for example, is increasingly developing to serve humanity and transform work into a collaborative, thriving task that serves all those participating in the production chain and not just those who hold capital.
According to Hélio Couto, Compassionate Economy “is an economy in which people help each other… it is a decision of each person when they reach Spiritual Enlightenment to help others to the extent of their abilities. When people see that those who practice compassionate economics are prosperous and continue to prosper more and more, the benefit of applying EC in their lives will become evident… the principle of EC is that it will always work better for everyone if we help others. This should be done disinterestedly and selflessly. Help because it's the right thing to do. And it's the best thing for everyone involved. When we help, we progress in countless ways. All help comes back sooner or later multiplied to us. But, we don't help because of that. It's not an exchange. It's one-sided. We help because we believe it's the best. And the results show that this is the best thing you can do. Always help, unconditionally…”.
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Personally, I believe in this change, in a more loving vision of working and serving, changing the heavy conception that, until today, these words bring us, and, who knows, in a while we will be able to open the dictionary and find the following explanation: work : activity that is exercised out of love, to serve everyone and the whole.
Your task is to discover your work and then wholeheartedly devote yourself to it.” (Buddha)
