Someone asked me today why I do what I do. More in terms of what I do for a career and volunteering. Lots of people don't agree with the work I am in, they question why I would sacrifice my time, salary, and my heart on problems that arnt mine. This person was not insinuating that at all but it did get me thinking. There are times when I too wonder why it is I am so drawn to the social development field, why I give more of me to others than I do to myself (which is a whole other issue). I think the way I look at it is: a carpenter is given the gift of his hands, an architect is given the gift of his eye, and I was given the gift of my heart. For me, it would be wasteful and unfulfilling to not use it, I love the work I do, the passion I bring, the lives I meet. It is one of the most rewarding paths I could imagine and I am so glad I landed myself here. Here's a poem (and song) that stirred me up a few years ago, I thought of it today as I was replying to this friend.
Three passions have governed my life:
The longings for love, the search for knowledge,
And unbearable pity for the suffering of [humankind].
Love brings ecstasy and relieves loneliness.
In the union of love I have seen
In a mystic miniature the prefiguring vision
Of the heavens that saints and poets have imagined.
With equal passion I have sought knowledge.
I have wished to understand the hearts of [people].
I have wished to know why the stars shine.
Love and knowledge led upwards to the heavens,
But always pity brought me back to earth;
Cries of pain reverberated in my heart
Of children in famine, of victims tortured
And of old people left helpless.
I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot,
And I too suffer.
This has been my life; I found it worth living.
-Bretrand Russell
1 comment:
Awe Jen! Loved it! You are so good at what you do!
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