life-work

I love the fact that I was instructed by my “boss” to stop early and not work so hard and wear myself out; that I deserved and needed a break.

“Stop!” She said. “Take a break and rest! Go for a walk in the woods before it rains. It’s not healthy to be stuck in the house all day, you need to get outside! You’ve done enough today – go!”

So go I did – out to the Quabbin to sit on the rocky shore and breathe with the waves and watch the sun set behind the dark hills and windy clouds; to relax my body that was tired of cooking and cleaning; to soothe my mind, rejuvenate my spirit; to connect with the God that is in all and through all; to feel the presence of the Spirit around me and let it fill me.

Being in nature – letting myself be overwhelmed by it – is the best way I know of to connect with God, and if I want to live my life so that everything I do is an expression of my spirituality, then I need to have regular, intentional time in nature.

Here at Agape, that is understood as an integral part of life.

Life here is not about the Job – although there is certainly lots of work to be done! But the goal of life here is life itself. We don’t live in order to work or work in order to live, the way many people do: people who get a job simply so they can pay the bills and, if they earn enough, go enjoy themselves on their time off; people to whom life is meaningless if they can’t prove their worth to their family or society by being employed.

Rather, at Agape the work is a part of life, but the purpose is to be living and practicing a simple, spiritually grounded life, a whole life, that is supported by community and grounded in nature. It’s not about being a “good” worker who will do everything the boss says and beyond, in spite of your opinions about the task you may be assigned, in order to be appreciated and prove your value and maybe even get a raise. The work that happens at Agape is about living your beliefs and witnessing to your convictions and teaching other about how to go and do likewise.