Work and Labor

There is a pleasure in working slowly and deliberately on something without thinking about when the work will be completed or being anxious about the result. As if we are chipping away at a stone wall, one rock at a time. This utmost focus on the work is what distinguishes labor as craft from labor as drudgery. Regardless of whether or not we are actually creating something tangible, in the moment of working without being attached to how that work will turn out or what it means, one is crafting—transforming something into a form that is different from what it was before. In terms of mental labor, we weave our thoughts into shape. 

We are not so conscious of time during this experience of physical and mental attention. The mind roams, exercises, and moves forward. An unglamorous but a deeply felt vitality of being a breathing, moving human being can be found in this type of approach to labor.