An unexpected book arrived in the mail the other day. A gift from my friend’s at Wisdom Publications. Zen Master Raven: The Teachings of a Wise Old Bird. by Zen Master human form, Robert Aitken. Here the koans are told by and to animals of the forest: raven, porcupine, owl, woodpecker, badger, black bear, and […]
What does a live well lived look like? Nigel Marsh opines on the critical issue of work-life balance. He muses wryly that we “work long hours at jobs we hate to make money to buy things we don’t need to impress people we don’t like.” A variant of the velvet handcuffs. Balance is incompatible with certain career choice. He warns that we can’t leave the idea of balance to our employers but must take this notion into our own hands.
In other words, we must show up to our life and notice what is happening. If we set aside the notion of working and life outside of work and endeavor to give our full attention to whatever is happening now, the dichotomy between work and life breaks down and there is nothing to balance. If we are paying attention we’ll know when it is time to unplug, when it is time to attend to our physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual needs.
In other words again, be mindful.