Labor Day Weekend celebrates the work we do all year to make our living and earn our income.
The photo above is shows the images of people working from the Light Seers Tarot and the Elemental Wisdom Tarot. The same card by different artists, both showing people busy at work.
When we pause to take a look at what we do for work, it is fascinating to observe our evolution. Our labors are one of the primary focuses of our life. Unless we have inherited a trust fund or won the lottery, we all have choices to make about how we earn a living. And that is one of the biggest choices we get to make in life.
How the wheel of life turns. Those of us who are a little older had to learn how to use computers as they entered the work place. Now there are generations who have had computers and smart phones all their lives.
All this tech development means we need millions of people to do the work of electricians, plumbers, heating and air, welding, carpentry, machining, engineering and more of those old traditional skills.
When I do readings for high school after proms, I am hearing more of the young graduates going into various trades, rather than college. They are making good choices, and they will be in careers earning a decent living doing important things that need doing in less time than it takes to go to college.
I see irony in the fact that 20 and 30 years ago, learning to write computer code was the gateway to a great paying career. But now AI is going to write code and we need electricians, plumbers and HVAC technicians to keep the server farms running. Imagine how many other turns of the wheel we will witness.
Other skills that continue regardless of other changes include chefs, hairdressers, barbers, aestheticians, teachers, tailors, and many other skills. All require knowledge plus practice, and many of us have worked at more than one skill during our lifetime.
Interestingly, mom tells me that even during the depths of the Great Depression, hair salons were always busy. Looks like tattoo artists will always have work to do no matter what else is happening, too. Interesting which businesses survive economic turmoil and which ones don't.
And even though the there are always new trends in the types of restaurants we patronize, people who know how to cook are always needed.
And of course, since we are living longer now, there is also a great need for people who can work in elder care, nursing and caregiving. Plus all the recent wars that have created more amputees and other seriously wounded people who need specialized care.
We all have had to learn new things all along the way. Those of of us who work in natural healing and metaphysical arts have had to learn new skills too.
Everyone has some skills they were born with, and as we choose our path, whether we become good at them depends how how much we focus on it and develop it. We have to acquire the skills needed to become excellent in our practice.
The wheel of life keeps on turning.
Earlier in my life, I edited magazines, and it was a good career path for me, but it is not something I would recommend to a young person now, and that feels funny to me. But in recent years, so much of our information has moved online, many magazines have gone to online only versions or went out of business. When I was growing up in Chicago, there were 4 daily newspapers, and I delivered a route for one of them. Now there are 2. This morning I discovered that by the end of this year, the daily newspaper for metro Atlanta, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, will no longer be printed, only online. A new world indeed.
And on the other hand, there are stories about how people have dropped out of high tech jobs to become organic farmers. Or people who gave up office jobs to become brewers, bakers, dog sitters, artists on Etsy or some other entrepreneurial venture.
The biggest employer in the US once was General Motors. Today it is Walmart. Back in the 1950s, the wealthiest city in the US was Detroit, because of all the auto workers making good wages. Today it is Silicon Valley because of the high tech industries. Not so long ago, a person could tune up their own car, change the oil & air filter with a few screwdrivers and wrenches. Now auto mechanics have to use computers to diagnose and make some repairs.
There are jobs that people are doing now that did not exist when I was growing up, and there will be jobs in the future that do not exist yet.
I always express my appreciation to others for their work, and it always feels good to receive that appreciation as well.
There is value in all labor because it is an important part of our lives.
The two biggest choices we all get to make are about how we are going to make our living and who we are going to love.
Use love to make all your choices. People who are doing work they love always find ways to do it better. We all feel best when we can get up every day looking forward to what we have to do. If we are not there yet, what will it take to get there?
