The Three Bricklayers
In this issue:
· Insights Into Practices
· My Favorite Quote This Week
· What I’m Watching
Insights Into Practices: The Three Bricklayers
There is a story of three bricklayers working side by side that is sometimes told to illustrate the power of purpose and vision.
Someone comes along and asks the first bricklayer, “What are you doing?” The first bricklayer replies: “I’m laying bricks, one by one. Applying mortar and placing each brick.”
The second bricklayer is asked, “What are you doing?” He answers, “I’m making a living. By doing this job, I’m able to provide for my family.”
The third bricklayer, when asked, “What are you doing?” responds, “I’m building a cathedral. I’m helping people to connect with God.”
I’ve always liked this story. On one level, it’s a beautiful, simple illustration about perspective. It demonstrates the power we each have to choose how to interpret the events of our lives, and how we can create our own unique meaning. The three bricklayers are performing the same task while understanding what they are accomplishing in completely different terms.
In many ways, everything in our lives is like this. There are events, and there is how we interpret and how we live these events.
As a leader I want the bricklayers who work with me to bring awareness to all three of these areas. It’s important to pay attention to the details of laying bricks. Is each person diligently looking at the blueprints and placing each brick in exactly the right place?
At the same time, I understand that the people I work with are human beings, not machines. Humans have needs, emotions, and aspirations. I recognize that for people to be most effective — to be able to work with skill, creativity, and conscientiousness — they need to be compensated fairly and adequately, in ways that meet their personal and family needs. Working with a sense of purpose matters a lot.
And, I understand the need to work and live with a higher purpose and vision. I believe they need to be included in the work’s larger vision and meaning. It’s important to see the noble, divine, and spiritual aspect of the work we are performing — in this case, the sacred act of building a cathedral, a spiritual gathering place for the benefit of our community.
Embracing all these perspectives or attitudes helps us achieve the great results we seek, and at the same time supports the growth and development of our understanding and character. Ultimately, I don’t want each bricklayer focused on only one aspect of his or her job, but I want them to be adept enough to focus on, and succeed at, all three aspects simultaneously.
We are all like these three bricklayers. The message of the story is that we each hold these differing, sometimes contradictory perspectives within us much of the time. Our task is to discover how to embrace, penetrate, and reconcile them effectively, cooperatively, even joyfully.
To Explore and Practice:
Step back and look at your daily life: each day is filled with small tasks and activities, stuff to get done, bricks to lay. In and around these tasks, we eat, sleep, exercise, pay bills, go shopping, get the kids to and from school, and express our love. Bring awareness and appreciation to the day-to-day details.
In between all this, we aspire and dream and connect with others, support ourselves and our families and aspire to be of service. Notice the ways you are supporting others.
And, we can open our hearts and minds to the larger, sacred aspects of our work, and everything we do. Like the three bricklayers, we are balancing multiple states of awareness. Bring awareness to the sacred aspect of your work, relationships, and your life.
My Favorite Quote This Week
“To save our planet, we need to re-examine our ideas of happiness. Every one of us has a view, an idea, about what will make us happy. And, because of that idea of happiness, we may have sacrificed our time and destroyed our body and mind running after those things. But, once we realize that we already have more than enough conditions to be happy we can be happy right here and now.”
Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet
What I’m Watching
American Fiction – Smart and funny, with important commentary on our culture’s assumptions and biases.
Tokyo Vice – I just began watching this series, about crime reporting in modern Japan. I’m already hooked.