Jain Spirit 2002 06 No 11

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 44

WORKPLACE
VALUING WORK
Rae Sikora suggests how work can become an extension of home and not divorced from it
OU LIVE IN A COMPASSIONATE
home. Maybe you do not eat any meat, dairy or eggs. Maybe you have chosen not to buy leather or wool or silk. You feel good about how you and your family have chosen to live. If you are like most people living this type of lifestyle, you feel you are doing enough and may not want to learn more ways to bring compassion into your life. Change is difficult. It is difficult in our homes and is even more difficult to bring it to the workplace. We want to fit in and belong in our communities and workplaces. We do not want to be 'different', be the bearers of bad news or the ones who are always bringing up issues to those around us. So, how do we continue living our compassionate values when we walk out of our homes and enter our workplaces? How do we go beyond living our values personally, into having our workplace reflect and support our values?
The most difficult task may be either choosing work that truly reflects our values or changing our careers to the ones that are more aligned with who we are and what we believe in. In order to do this, we need to redefine wealth. What is true wealth? Is it something that can be measured by the size of our house or the size of our bank account? What does a wealthy life really look like? We have the opportunity to look at this for ourselves. My definition of a wealthy
42 Jain Spirit June - August 2002
or rich life would be a life with plenty of time to spend with the family and friends and to be outdoors. I would include having good health, a roof over my head and organic food in the refrigerator. My definition would also include meaningful work that uses my skills, reflects whom and what I care about and causes as little harm as possible in the world around me.
"You will be amazed at how even the smallest
pebble of change in the workplace can cause huge ripples."
For some of us choosing this type of work may mean that we do not have fat bank accounts. But, are we poor? By American standards, probably yes. By global standards, far from it. In the U.S. we consume 30% of the world's resources, but we are only 5% of the world's population. We are a culture of consumers. We spend an average of six hours per week shopping and 40 minutes connecting with our children. This consumer society has often put people in the position of living beyond their means. It has also put many people in the position of working in
careers that do not reflect their core values. Sometimes, people are afraid to switch to a career that is more aligned with their values, for fear of not being able to pay their bills.
I have met people who work as scientists in labs doing experiments on animals. I have asked them if they feel good about what they do. The answer I have received was usually, "No, but I think it is helping humanity." As we look closer at some of our choices, we may find that justifying or rationalising the value of our work is only a way to keep ourselves doing it but it is not necessarily true.
Once you have chosen a career that fits your values, you may still be faced with daily decisions that are a challenge. The organisation I cofounded, IIHE/CCL, is based on the principles of compassionate living. Our core values are reflected in the educational work we do. Still, we are constantly faced with decisions that make it difficult to feel that our compassionate values are being reflected in our daily actions. I fly to workshops and programmes, and contribute to one of the most environmentally unsound transportation choices. We print materials using paper and ink daily. We have chosen to use recycled paper and soy-based inks. This choice means more expense for us. We were also told that our copy machine breaks down more often than it would if we used virgin fibre paper.