Today is Labor Day, a day on which I'm not quite sure what we celebrate. "Labor" is something of a nebulous concept after all.
Labor as in "labor unions"?
Labor as in generic work activity?
What constitutes "work activities" anyway?
Regardless, and to avoid any further over-thinking, I'm going to simply say that, for myself, today is a day to reflect on the value of hard work. There is a real nobility in working hard to support oneself. Even more nobility when that labor supports others. Even more than that, labor is at its very best when it supports others who then learn to support themselves.
I think we lose sight of the value of hard work. Too many fall for the "get rich quick" mentality of lotteries or, even worse, wealth via lawsuit. Too many people become famous not for what they produce, but for simply the act of being famous. Forget that nonsense spewed by the likes of Pat Robertson (and his ilk): the real sign of degradation in American society are those blatantly heterosexual Kardashians, not hard-working gay folks who just want to marry their best friends. Our priorities are all messed up sometimes.
For me, I am at my best when I am working hard. It doesn't matter what I am working hard at; it could be working around the house with my hands or working on something in the office that involves more of my head. Conversely, I am at my worst when I sit here, stewing over this, that or the other thing. If ever there was a truism for my life, it's this: I simply and truly enjoy working hard. It's my hope that my daughters carry this forward into their adult lives.
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