Find Meaning & Purpose In Life As A Laborer | Ep. 79

Serve Conscious

Happy labor day!
So, I don't know where I get off speaking about today's struggles in the same conversation as surviving the holocaust, American slavery and working conditions during the early industrial era. But its survivors (and casualties) have brought us some important lessons on resilience, dignity and self-understanding as working people. I like extreme examples to illustrate the finer points of my rather un-extreme and comfortable modern life. And to challenge me to have gratitude and authority over the privileged life I've been given.
**Slight correction: I said on the episode that restaurants weren't considered essential services during COVID, but I should have said restaurants "as we knew them", since I believe many were
Discussion points:

• How to find meaning in your work in a socioeconomic structure that isn't really designed around a respect for the working person.
• The true history of labor day and the tragedies around it are especially relevant to today.
• How the service role has been tainted by society's tendency to take advantage of the people serving them - whether it's your clientele or your employers - and how to drop this baggage and reconnect to the growth potential that the role offers us.
• How the ego hijack's our search for meaning and feed us false signals about it's location. We discuss ways to use mindfulness to hack the ego's oppressive fictions and connect us to the true location of our sense of purpose.
• Gratitude is a practice and can be employed to get us through the most challenging (and dire) of situations - and to find fulfillment no matter where we are in our lives.

Once again, I'll disclaim that the human capacity for resilience, and the way that empowered mindfulness allows us to adapt to - and even thrive - in difficult situations, does not excuse organizations from improving the way that it treats its employees. In fact, mindfulness done properly connects people more thoroughly to their worth, and can make them more likely to press for positive change, not less.
Recommended Pairings:

Podcast Episodes:
True Hospitality Means The Employees Get Just As Much Care As The Clientele – Interview w/ John DeBary | Ep. 54
Bringing Humanity Back To Large-Scale Service Pt. 1 | feat. Joel Bailey | Service With New Purpose Series | Ep. 69

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Music: "Night Owl" by Broke For Free