http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/16/AR2006091600455.html

General election day , here in Sweden , it is. Read about it properly by clicking on link aboce. I'm not into politics .

I did the honourable thing yesterday , went to the library to cast my 2 votes just before they closed at 3 o'clock. I like my Sundays to be free from any musts and shoulds .

It was a bit stressful being rushed on .. " come on hurry up .... we're about to close " the man said .. nasty man .. I don't like being stressed.

I 'm only allowed 2 votes , the municiple and county elections , since I am not a Swedish citizen.

Funny thing is , I used to work together with one of the candidate's father's . Not saying which one - but he may just be the next prime minister.

Say no more ....................
OMMMMM .. peace shanti , shanti, shanti , ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm !

What is work ?

I mean really , apart from being a four lettered word

Is it still " work " when you willing do whatever it is for free, without getting paid ?

Is is " work " if you are unemployed , yet you are still contributing to society baby sitting, giving advice, doing someone's shopping , being a shoulder to cry on , listening sympathetically, empathically to someone's cares and woes ?

Is it work when you are a stay at home wife and mother ?

Kahlil Gibran says:

" When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music. ....

Work is love made visible.

And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.

For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger.

And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.

And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night. "

There was talk about introducing pay for each and every adult person person - not a lot - but enough for food , clothes accommodation ... basic needs . A salary one would get simply for BEING. I think it is a great idea. I don't know who thought of it , or how close it is to becomming a reality .. but ..... I think it would make a heck of a difference to society .

It is time to re- define WORK I think.

Matthew Fox has done something about this . He writes :

“Work should be in order to live. We don’t live in order to work. That shift in awareness is necessary.” -- Matthew Fox

We need a shift in awareness, I think. We need to review our beliefs about work .

What are your beliefs around work?

Do you believe it’s necessary to work hard to earn a living?

" No pain, no gain " ?

" Arbeitet machts frei " ? ( not sure of the spelling )

Do you believe " a woman’s work is never done " ?

Is it right to get paid a lot for very little effort ?

What about the belief that says " I can' t afford to take time off " ?

Is play a waste of time?

While there are merits to the work ethic, over-work takes a serious toll on the quality of our lives. More and more people are getting " burnt out " and at a very early age.I got burnt out 10 years ago, still haven't quite recovered.

Our ability to contribute to life requires us to have a sense of balance, joy, playfulness, time to stop and smell the flowers.

“Learning to let go of the ways we inadvertently and unconsciously contribute to our own pain is the key to finding radiant physical and emotional health.” -- Ingrid Bacci ( doesn't " bacci " mean kisses in Italian ? - nice name )

“To do great work a man must be very idle as well as very industrious.”
Samuel Butler

“The true object of all human life is play.” -- G.K. Chesterton

So what do YOU think ?