What IS Work?

Dear Reader,

The "Tree PIt" project is done! Thank heaven! I think if I'd had to go out there again and dig in those pits or mix, haul and dump any more mulch, I would have collapsed. As it was, each time I went out there to work, along Broadway between 102nd and 103rd Streets, it was hot, humid, smelly (car exhaust, dog pee, etc.), dirty, and sometimes aggravating. It was also satisfying, at least when folks didn't think I was doing "community service," or was hired to do the work. While I was preparing and spreading the mulch, I had the cooperation of my building, in that I had tools and space to work in. The mixing (I did a 2-color mulch, red and black), hauling and spreading was tough work, though. I didn't realize when I took this on how hard the work would actually be.

But what is work? The "work" I do to earn a living is, in and of itself, easy. Bookkeeping and accounting. It's numbers, math, organization, memory, repetition. I'm very good at it. The part I'm not as good at is dealing with clients who have no idea what it is I do, or worse, think that they understand my work. Then, I have to explain to them that they are idiots, without actually saying that. Bookkeeping is one of those tasks that everyone thinks they can do, but, as I have been told by clients, don't have the time to waste on. So, they have me. And, as I am "only a bookkeeper," I am not their equal, intellectually or in any other way, so they frequently believe.

As you may imagine, I don't get much satisfaction from this. So, I take on other tasks; I guess they would be called hobbies or, in the case of my gardening, exercise. I essentially approach these in the same way I do my work. I determine the work to be done, I formulate a plan to accomplish the work, and I do the job and get it done. Sadly, many of these "non-work" jobs are more satisfying and fulfilling than my income-producing work.

Whatever the situation, I work hard. I try to get my daily goals accomplished, even when I'm out in the Park. I love talking with folks while I'm out there, but I worry that I'm losing time "on the job." I had the same thing happen while I was out working on the tree pits. I don't want to be rude to people who stop and chat, however, so I have taken the time from my work, and made a few new friends.

So, what is work? And why can't work be fun, or at least fulfilling, and produce a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day? The tree pits were really hard work, but the sense of accomplishment and yes, satisfaction I had when I walked along them afterwards made it worthwhile. I occasionally have these same good feelings when I develop a really good spreadsheet, or reorganize a company so that the management can actually see how they are doing. But those upsides in my "real" work are few and far between.

I'm also bummed about my chorus right now, so I haven't even addressed that work here. I hope that over the rest of the summer I can focus on my Park work, which is wonderfully satisfying, and carry some of that back into my other works.

Bottom line, I think, work is work, but some work is fun. And sometimes fun can actually be work. Should one have to work to have fun? At age 51, I should have the answers to these questions, but the sad fact is, I still haven't even figured out what I want to be. Sheesh!

More to Come,
Catbird