Ora et Labora

The monks of the order of St Benedict have this motto which means pray and work. I am not sure if they still do, but the restaurant group here, Primi Piatti used to wear a motto on their overalls from the writings of Kahlil Gibran: Work is love made visible. I have blogged before about the meaninglessness of my work and was told by somebody who has kids that that will change when I have children of my own. Maybe. Leaving aside meaning for a moment and just considering enjoyment, there are two people who I really admire: A guy who was our neighbour some years back and a friend of mine, Ian. The neighbour (we'll call him Frank) used to come home on a Friday evening after working late and haul his boat out and head off only to return late Sunday evening. He spent the entire weekend scuba diving. Ian, on the other hand spends all of his spare time sailing his yacht - he loves the sea. So? Well Frank's job was that he is a commercial diver. And Ian works in the yachting industry and races regularly as part of his job. To do what you love as your job must be the most awesome gift - I dream often of doing it, but to actually do it....wow!