Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.1

In the morning when you rise unwillingly, let this thought be present: I am rising to the work of a human being.

Why then am I dissatisfied if I am going to do the things for which I exist, and for which I was brought into the world?

Or have I been made for this, to lie in the bedclothes and keep myself warm?

“But this is more pleasant!”

Do you exist then to take your pleasure, and not at all for action or exertion? Do you not see the little plants, the little birds, the ants, the spiders, and the bees working together to put in order their several parts of the Universe? And are you unwilling to do the work of a human being, and you do not make haste to do that which is according to your nature?

“But it is necessary to take rest also!”

It is necessary, however nature has fixed bounds to this too. She has fixed bounds both to eating and drinking, and yet you go beyond these bounds, beyond what is sufficient. Yet in your acts it is not so, but you stop short of what you can do. So you do not love yourself, for if you did, you would love your nature and her will.

Those who love their several arts exhaust themselves in working at them unwashed and without food, but you value your own nature less than the turner values the turning art, or the dancer the dancing art, or the lover of money values his money, or the vainglorious man his little glory.

And such men, when they have a violent affection for a thing, choose neither to eat nor to sleep, but rather than to perfect the things that they care for. But are the acts that concern society more vile in your eyes and less worthy of your labor?

—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 5 (tr Long)

Of all the topics that are regularly considered in casual conversation, few seem to be as common as discussing how much we hate getting up for work. Perhaps only complaints about the weather can come close.

It’s not hard to see why this is the case. Most everyone will seem to agree, and, like the weather, we feel as if there’s not much we can do about it in any event. We carry on, doing what is expected of us, with tired resignation and a twinge of resentment.

I have known the feeling well, and upon reflection, it has always been because I have failed to understand what my work in this life is, and how I can find joy in making an effort for its sake. It is too easy to seek the gratification of laziness when I can perceive no real value in activity.

Yes, there are all of those tasks and chores during the day, all of those obstacle courses we need to run, so that we can put food on the table and a roof over our heads. But these things are accessories to life, and not the work of a human being.

Yes, there are all the orders and demands given to us by those who are richer or stronger than we are, and we comply so that we can find ourselves some acceptance and approval. But these things are conveniences of life, and not the work of a human being.

Yes, there are all sorts of skills and careers we may pursue, all of them with their own specific purpose in making everyone’s life easier. But these things are only an assistance in life, and not the work of a human being.

When an ant, or a bee, or any living thing dedicates itself completely to its own task and place in Nature, it does so out of an instinctive drive to fulfill its very purpose. Is it sufficient to say that the purpose of a human being is to get a job, buy things, and stay out of trouble?

If that is all I have to live for, it should come as no surprise that I will dislike the very idea of work, and I will prefer to sleep in. The work of a human being, that which we essentially and universally share in common, is to pursue virtue, to know what is true and to love what is good, to always think with compassion and to act with justice. I most certainly wouldn’t want to get out of bed to crawl along in traffic, shuffle papers, crank out widgets all day, or get yelled at by the boss, though I will gladly jump up right away to have a chance to be happy.

That is, after all, what the work of a human being is, not to become rich or important, but to be happy, to live with excellence, whatever our different particular roles in life may be. With that in mind, work, rightly understood, is not a burden, but a blessed opportunity.

When people are passionate about what they are doing, and truly love the goals that they seek, they will gladly put aside most anything else for the sake of that purpose. Just as the Stoic Turn flips just about everything on its head, it also redefines the dignity of work, because it redefines the very things in life that are worth working for. 

Written in 3/2006