SELFLESS WORK, AN ARCHAIC ACTION?

Without hope and with the mind and the self controlled, having abandoned all greed,

doing mere bodily action, he incurs no sin (Bhagavad Gita)

Although I did not follow my friends’ path to choose the new President in the last election, I was pleased to hear speech he gave during his inauguration. Speech confirmed his commitment to work hard for the prosperity of the people is clearly different from any other speeches, including of our previous president’s speeches. It's been a long time since we did not hear such positive remarks from the leaders. And this one is like raindrops in the middle of broad daylight barren. But, that’s exactly what any other leader would speech in the beginning of their rule, isn’t it?

Of course, state leader wouldn't have to say those words just to remind us that to work is an absolute obligation for all human being, for anyone already passed puberty and beyond. For those who are married and have children, work is a necessity to meet the needs of family life. Especially now when nothing is cheap, you can imagine what will happen with your kitchen and refrigerator if we are not working. What makes a family man (or woman) worth if he/she is jobless? We would probably suffer permanent depression as we have no reason to get up early in the morning, to keep our healthy state physically, or mentally.

Yes, even the idea of what we will do tomorrow has risen since the previous night, since we were still awake watching telly, or smoking on the porch staring at the moon. For some people who work in places with strict routines, whether in the office, at the factory or in the home, the days they are going to go through a week, a year or years ahead has been clearly delineated.  

Maybe they want to liberate themselves from this chains, but can their children go to school and having meal three times a day, when they no longer working? How do we buy food or pay our bill if we have no money? What must we give to the landlord so we can keep ourselves and or family safe and warm inside a rent dwell?  You might feel no worry as you think about it, but your spouse could have different state of mind, and this could lead him/her into depression, more severe than you did (if you have one).    

Not money-slave  

A friend of mine confessed that he is forced to tighten his family expense since our state government suspended Indonesia’s official organization (this happened few weeks before the FIFA corruption scandal was revealed ), which created great impact on the elimination of all kinds of football games, as well as turning off the finance income of all players , coaches, officials, football media reporters, food vendors inside the stadium, jersey makers, the players masseus, players laundrywomen, and others who earn their living from football, including my dear friend.  

It is easy for us as the audience to show sympathy, as easy as the stakeholders express their sympathy for hundreds of laid off labors as a result of the policies they make. Sometimes I wonder, what would a person feel when they were dragged into this situation? Those who have spent years working on and ends at the same hour every day, received a salary at the same date and suddenly someone, something they do not recognize, suddenly come up and spitting out these words on their faces, that everything must come to an end exactly at that moment.  

Sudden changes obviously becoming a recent trend in many places across the world. Revolution time, people said. It seems that they forget or having lack ability to observe that no change can occur suddenly without any warning signals initially. Great changes like becoming rich shortly as the money fell from the sky, or becoming incredibly strong after being struck by lightning, are only illusions that we silently expect to happen.

Even a terrifying incident such as natural disaster actually has sent its signals of coming before the deadline. It's just us humans who are becoming unaware of natural signs from day to day, also increasingly insensitive to the feelings of fellow human beings. Let’s not blaming sophisticated technology that have led our misdirection. We let our eyes see, but just to see, not more. As “You see, but you don’t observe,” Mr. Sherlock said. All we want is an instant result, instant money and instant success. But, no lunch is free, either dinner and breakfast.  

Not much different from all the things that were laid out in front of us today. All of these are a group of results of a long process in the past, so does revolution.

For example, why cigarette factory workers are suddenly laid off? Because cigarettes are always blamed as the cause of disease in humans lead to death, as this diminished the number of people who consume them. Space for smokers are increasingly narrowed by the increasing number of public places that restrict access for smokers. Smokers are the enemy of society, they are cruel and heartless and like hurting themselves and anyone who live around them. These days, smoking is no different from drug addiction, they both are bad, harsh, rubbish. But what would you think when there are many people in the corner of a country lay their fate to these unmerciful smokers? 

In my country, cigarette factory workers dominated by women, as economic causes forced them to leave home and their babies for work. The women in this position are commonly looking for a safe state, do whatever it takes to secure their source of income. They were content to get some money to buy milk for the children or pay tuition. They might not have any idea that cigarette is bad for our health. As they also might not have any idea where to find a new good job.     

Perhaps their minds wouldn’t think a lot about all the possibilities that could happen, that they are aging and was no longer physically fit as their early days. However, I do not want to blame one's choice of profession, but I only regretted their lack of response in responding their current state.  

Working every day supposed to be seen as an alternative way to represent ourselves as we want to be, not a must, not a heavy obligation, and not a burden at all. Every kind of job has its own means, depends on skills, education, ability, professionalism. But moreover, it also depend on what choice that we have made. Indeed, we are working to get some money. But we’re likely becoming slaves of money if we keep this words in mind. How about working as a matter of survive? Or working to make someone else’s happiness? How about working without expecting the result, that our salary just an effect of our works? How about working as a long-term search for the mean of our lives? We need to say this to ourselves if we refuse to being considered our existence as money-slave.

Idealism : Sold

Young, spunky, fiery, perhaps that’s the picture of us in adolescence days. The journey has led us on certain terminals, stations and bus stops, large and small. There we experienced a lot of things that often crashed another wall as we believe it to be the right thing. But, it’s not a serious problem as long as we know how to stand back on our feet again.  

Fall-standing, lying-arise, stumbling-awake .. Boring! But yes, that’s all the human days of lifetime. But, some could be bored with this immense natural cycle of life and decide to end it earlier. There are individuals who choose to stop bitching, mummied their dreams and thoughts in a world of their own, making themselves children trapped in adult physically. Meanwhile, some other murmuring their wishes to make a sudden explosion to reach the glory easily.  

Any human with this kind of attitude are willing to do anything, even surrender their belief of what is right as long as they succeeded in grasping the glory. For example, some officials who do not hesitate to spend tens of millions to buy decent houses, cars or jewellery. Of course it's their money and they can do anything with it. But is it true that they really get that money in ways that it should be? It’s not a difficult question to answer as we could discover how much their salary per month, whether  they still have parents and relatives who shall be funded, how many expenses they should pay for their children education, how many pets, as well as how many wives or lovers they have.  

In addition to acknowledge how much levels of honesty that they have in terms of getting money, by seeking answers to these questions above we will also be able to know the others reason on why they, and we, are working. Whether they (and us) working in order to full their (or our) own bellies, for their groups interest, for the sake of their political party, or for the sake the order? Or whether they, or we, the human species who become increasingly rare these days, working only to serve our people and country? Or did they, or we, kind of utopian men who failed to move on since our (or their) reason to work is only for the sake of truth?  (D.A)