Being Nothing and Doing Everything at Work - 2

We covered being nothing at work last time. Now let's look at what "doing everything" in spite of our nothingness could possible mean. But first, a reminder.

Summer's basically over. August 2025 will fall into the sinkhole of history on Sunday. Monday is Labor Day. While not the "official" end of summer, these are, practically speaking, the last days.

Some of our children have already returned to school. If not yet, then next week they'll be trudging off to class. Any slowing down or slight respite from the usual intensity of the work flow will be a happy memory. Our companies will be gearing up for the push to meet year-end goals. Get ready. 

(On the other hand, there's still time for a few wistful moments to recall the sentiments of an old song "Lazy, Crazy, Hazy, Days of Summer" by the great Nat King Cole, if so inclined.)

But back to nothingness and doing everything.

Our recognition of our nothingness does not diminish us as workers. We can seek to improve our material circumstances by getting a raise, advancing in a career, etc. The foundation of this effort will be the quality and timeliness of the work we do - as opposed to sucking up to the boss, engaging in office politics, etc. And that foundation will be built on a doing everything, 

Now, doing everything is rather vague. Obviously we don't just run around like a chicken without a head just doing something (although some folks do focus on looking busy!). Rather, we carefully assess the tasks we need to do, perform them in a timely fashion, in a thorough manner. We don't cut corners. We seek to do our best to get the best possible result consistent with the practical objective of the task at hand.

A small example from personal experience: A client needs a distribution of funds from their account on a given day each month in a given amount. There must be a system in place to assure this. And if we are a one-man operation, that system must nonetheless prevail, no matter what else is going on,  

A bigger example: planning our business - whether we're a worker bee, manager or business owner. We cover this every year in the weeks before the 1st Sunday of Advent. Some years things get so hectic we're tempted to delay or curtail the process. No. We must attend to it in a timely manner and fashion our plan fully. (Whether we use the process we outline or some other is beside the point.) It's simply good and proper business practice.

But there's more than just the practical and material of course. What about the spiritual?

With the understanding of our nothingness, our daily work can become more fully an integral part of daily spiritual work. We've gone over this over the years in great detail. There are a plethora of things we can do even on our busiest days. While we may not always be successful, we know what they are. And after a day where we hardly recognized God's Presence (if we did at all) on the job, we simply pick ourselves up and start over again with the new day.

But our recognition of our nothingness - if we really truly see this and internalize it - can serve as powerful motivator here. And no matter our particular work or temperament, there's one thing is common to all of us: If we are nothing, we must rely on God for everything - that is, all the good everything we do. Since we cannot rely on ourselves, it behooves us to go to our Father, to our Savior, to their Holy Spirit in every circumstance of our lives. And at work, we can do this more if we really know we are nothing.

So right now, the nature of my work is changing. I'm not all that clear on how to manage this change. In the past I might have pulled out my hair with worry and anxiety. Instead, I seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He may not immediately give me the specifics I'm looking for, but in time as things sort out, I will look back and see how He guided me.

And while it might be easier, in a sense, to look to God, to trust in Him, to rely on Him in bigger matters, we really can and should do this in every matter, every day. Indeed, if we can develop this habit in small things, when the big things come up we'll more naturally and easily know what to do - turn to Him in our nothingness. Rely on His Grace to help us do everything we need to do, everything He wants us to do.

We might look at it this way: If I really am nothing (and I am), what choice do I have? 

So with that, here's hoping this nothing and everything combo has made some sense.