Enjoy Your Labor
"There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour."
This statement was taken from the writer of Ecclesiastes. I have many times found it quite interesting, thoughtful yet perplexing. With many years of experience I have pretty much come to agree with him simply because experience has proved it. He has stated there is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his own labor. You see, when a person works hard in whatever field he applies himself he needs nourishment to sustain himself and in his labor he needs to find enjoyment otherwise the labor is a plague to him. The eating and drinking part of the statement is and can be applied both physically as literal food and drink as well as the knowledge and wisdom needed and acquired in the field of labor one applies himself. It takes literal food and drink to sustain the body so one can work. It also takes food and drink in the field one applies himself so he can learn and produce productively and that is food for the job or labor that feeds the process and makes it a success. In all of this one must enjoy what he is doing otherwise what he is doing is great vexation and becomes a plague producing great hatred for what he does. I have learned that when a person begins to labor in a certain field, he or she may not be as fond of the labor as they can be, yet if they apply themself with diligence they can grow with great love for what they do and so they develop their own pleasure and enjoyment in what they do. That is why the writer states, "he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor." You see, it is in our hands and mind to either enjoy the good in what we do and find pleasure or focus on the lesser we dislike and find frustration and discontent. It is all up to us as to what we will find, have and enjoy. It is up to us to MAKE our heart and mind enjoy our labor and the good it produces for ourself and others.
It truly is as the writer has stated. Nothing is better than to partake of the food we need to grow in all ways and then guide ourself into an enjoyable and appreciative life in what we do. So be it!