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We say it is a poor craftsperson who blames their tools.<\/p>\n
We may\u00a0get upset\u00a0with a stubborn nail\u00a0or lug nut, or when a pen goes dry. I admit there have been times when I considered throwing my printer\u00a0through a window. We get frustrated when things we rely on to do our work refuse to\u00a0do what we expect them to do.<\/p>\n
It\u00a0can be a challenge for us to admit we need help from things and from other people. We depend on tools and coworkers to do what we do. How we treat them says a lot about how we feel about what we are doing, even if they are inanimate objects.<\/p>\n
Benedictine monastic communities pledge to follow Benedict\u2019s Rule. Written over 1,500 years ago, the rule gives guidance for many aspects of monastic life.<\/p>\n
Benedict saw private ownership as an evil practice which was to be uprooted and removed from monasteries. Members of the community were to have free access to community property, but not own their own. The goods of the monastery, including tools, clothing, and anything else, were entrusted to the members. Members of the community were to keep its belongings clean and treat them carefully.<\/p>\n
One member of the community was to be appointed to take care of the community\u2019s things. This person was not to be annoying and to care for each of the other community members. This member was to regard the tools and goods of the monastery \u201cas sacred vessels of the altar.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is a significant phrase. The tools each community used for manual labor are to be treated like objects used for worship. We should show\u00a0the shovels and hammers we use the same reverence as the vessels on the altar.<\/p>\n
Benedict\u2019s guidance is a direct challenge to how we understand and experience work.<\/p>\n
We believe work is one thing and spiritual life is something completely different. For us, our professional lives are separate from our spiritual lives. Different rules apply, different standards of behavior, different expectations. We assume work is about making a living and getting ahead while spiritual life is more philosophical.<\/p>\n
Many of us see work as dividing us into haves and have nots. We are told it is a dog-eat-dog world and our choice is to eat or be eaten.<\/p>\n
We perceive spiritual life as a nicer, more polite world. Spiritual life is more about trust than about competition.<\/p>\n
Benedict calls all our assumptions about work and spiritual life into question.<\/p>\n
The tools we use for work are like the sacred vessels of the altar.<\/p>\n
In the church where I am a member, our\u00a0sacred vessels are made of silver. They are the chalices and small plates which hold the wine and bread for communion. Our\u00a0central, common meal reflects\u00a0what holds our community together.<\/p>\n
We treat these vessels with a great deal of respect, bordering on reverence. We cleanse the vessels after each time they are used and polish them regularly. It is important we treat them well to keep us\u00a0healthy and maintain their usefulness.<\/p>\n
The sacred vessels of the altar are practical, even utilitarian. It is essential they do their jobs well. They are less sacred in themselves than in the way they support our common life.<\/p>\n
While we may appreciate their beauty and brilliance, it is secondary to their service.<\/p>\n
The tools we use to do our work\u00a0serve the same purposes as the sacred vessels of the altar.<\/p>\n
The tools we use for work each day are not sacred\u00a0in themselves. We learn to use them well, find ways to discover\u00a0their potential.<\/p>\n
Like the vessels of the altar, our\u00a0tools are powerful in their support for our common life. As much as I might love my phone, it is only as significant as what it allows me to do.<\/p>\n
We want to improve how we work and it is easy to assume we are\u00a0just one new\u00a0tool away from greatness. When we get that one new book, that one new device, our problems will be solved. Our challenges are not really our fault, but those of our utensils.<\/p>\n
It almost sounds as if we were blaming our tools.<\/p>\n
I love new tools as much as anyone else. There is sacredness, though, in holding tools which have been passed down through generations. We sense the presence of everyone else who has used those tools or worn those clothes.<\/p>\n
Objects which have been put to good use are imbued with depth. I still have a sacred connection to tools which have taught me important lessons.<\/p>\n
We live in a culture which teaches us things are disposable. It is easy to\u00a0discard or recycle tools when they get old. We store things when we forget how they have helped us and deprive others of their use.<\/p>\n
Our\u00a0best tools live on in our memories of what they have taught us.<\/p>\n
I inherited an assumption that becoming more effective\u00a0was a product of gaining more power. It was a hammer and several nails which first taught me that might not be accurate. Over time, I began to question the idea that throwing ourselves again and again at a problem was helpful.<\/p>\n
It began to dawn on me there might be a better, and even\u00a0easier, way.<\/p>\n
We learn by doing, by trial and error. Most of us need the experience of trying something to learn how it feels. It is the sense of the tool in our hands which teaches us what we need to do the job.<\/p>\n
As much as we may value analysis or emotion, intuition or belief, it is practice which guides us.<\/p>\n
How do you treat your most sacred tools?<\/p>\n
What tool has taught you the most sacred lessons?<\/p>\n
[Image by\u00a0Lachlan<\/a><\/strong>]<\/p>\n Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and leadership coach in Southern California.\u00a0He<\/span>\u00a0is a recovering attorney and university professor, and<\/span>\u00a0a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California.\u00a0 Greg\u2019s website is StrategicMonk.com<\/span><\/a>, and his email address is StrategicMonk@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What We Need to Do the Job We say it is a poor craftsperson who blames their tools. We may\u00a0get upset\u00a0with a stubborn nail\u00a0or lug nut, or when a pen goes dry. I admit there have been times when I considered throwing my printer\u00a0through a window. We get frustrated when things we rely on to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2924,"featured_media":12552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-monastic-strategies"],"yoast_head":"\n