What job(s) have you done done in your life that most nourished your aspiration and joy?

Here’s a prompt question that we recently shared in the Life Itself community jobs board:

What job(s) have you done done in your life that most nourished your aspiration and joy?

Here was one memory that came to me personally, somewhat unexpectedly.

I’m around six or seven years old. It’s early autumn and I’m helping on the farm to clear a bramble patch. It’s a small group of us including my mother and a few others so there’s a real sense of togetherness. I am allowed to use a bill-hook and love hacking at the brambles. We pile them up and make a small bonfire as the light fades. There was such a sense of satisfaction in the work itself and in working with others — seeing what we’d cleared and watching the bonfire crackle as the day came to an end.

I reflected a bit on what were the key aspects of this for me, things like:

• A sense of fellowship and working with others
• Purpose and a sense of accomplishment — you could see the cleared bramble patch at the end of the day
• Exploring new capabilities in being allowed to use the billhook
• Being outside and active physically and as part of work - not just playing a game. There is a sense of aliveness that comes from purposeful physical labor .

This makes me reflect: I’ve always had a dream that I would love to (re)build a stone house largely by hand. e.g. perhaps this one which lives near the Life Itself farmhouse hub.

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