In Punjabi there is a wonderful saying which menas that men live till they can work and women till they can weep!
Women may consider it to be sexist , but for men at elast it si true as work is exhilirating experience but to certain limit, otherwise it becomes burden and stress and eevn it can damage manhood... success of Viagra proves this!
Work is a multidimensional idea which has economic,emotional and practicla reasons behind it but it is the factor which keeps the wolrd moving.
Work is freedom if it is by a person's choice but it is slavery if it is aginst one's own will and ideas. This modern work environemnt is not a win-win situation then , as structural unemployment, and layoffs neevr giev us freedom and free market is not always there to liberate us ratehr too much of free market becoems a slavery agent as the slowdowns in the economies show.
Work should have flexibility and integration withone's skills and his or ehr capabilities but its marekt driven choice rips work of its beauty. Work is not always bliss and not by choice! To achieve the goal of one's personal idea and goal of work brings us to nyriad combinations of feasibility and impracticality in its action and results. The globalization forces have opened newer and newer avenues for work but they also have restricted our chocies of work by destroying local cultural repositories of work and replacing them with uniform modes and means of production and restricting our chocies albeit on the name of freedom!
Modernity and globalization have been an oppurtunity and also a challenge fro selected few but as a reslut of relentless freedom and march of free market millions perhaps billions have beeen deprived of their personal and most cherished freedom... choice of work and in the end only work... not dictaed by masters or forces of invisible markets but arising from oneself's own inner self. Obviously this never means and will never be to adopt a work which damages freedom of others, cripples environment and devours cultural and personal identities at the altar of freedom and invisible hands... whther of economy or of religion. Humanity needs its freedom and sacrifices are always to eb made for that fundamental choice of work ! A wolrd of all peopel satisfied and able to work as per oneself's potential and ability is a world of freedom and of humanity... it is tiem to rethink our ideas of work,freedom and relentless march of "invisible hands" to take away pleasure and chocie of our work! Understanding the strcuture, contour and evolution of work is understanding ourselves as we are what we work not which we never worked! To work is to be oneself and work is never scarce as human beings are always ready to work, but the cruelity of invisible hands deprives us of pleasure to work and keeps us unemployed and without work or forces us to embark on destruction and terrorism... on the name of preserving the facade of invisible hands and free marekts and also for working on inhuman, and cruel interpretations and works of religious bigotry and fanaticism! Time is here to work for ourselves and for the future of our generations , if we do,nt stand up for our choices then the invisible hands of greed,resource destruction, and power accumulation will destroy freedom and humanity. At present the most danger is not from the enemies of freedom but from protectors of freedom... freedom of invisible hands, freedom to kill, freedom to oppress humanity, freedom to subjugate human beings to forced work and all teh violent behaviours on the name of religion,security,peace,freedom and humanity. The tiem is ot rethink our predicament and be free to work ... the frist step in that direction is to embark on the journey sadi beautifully by Sartre that " Greatest of the work is contempelation"... so let us contempelate to change and change for better and freedom to work not to be at receiving end but be a player in active creation of another new world... where w work by our choices not by dictates of religion, market , security or fear... but by freedom of hope and happiness... and most of all-----of love! As Love is eternal and love is the greatest work of creation and sustenance! May Allah bless us to love... humanity and all the creations around us... love to creaet and preserve not love of destruction and power!
