"No work is insignificant."

This was posted on a MySpace discussion group:

“No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Someone then asked, “What about when labor degrades human dignity”?

Then I remembered this story:

When I worked as an office intern during the summer, there was this hispanic janitor named Jose that cleaned our offices. He was a gentle, quiet man in his 60’s, didn’t talk much, and he was great at his job. The offices and restrooms were always clean and the waste baskets were always empty.

The next summer, we noticed that Jose wasn’t there anymore. Our supervisor said that he had died, and we felt bad. And then our supervisor said that she just found out that he is actually a priest. He never told anyone in our office that he was a priest, and he never carried himself as holier than thou. Whatever his reasons, I have a feeling that his dignity went beyond his job.

After that, it’s been easier for me to regard any job as having some sort of dignity. Even when I see crap TV shows, and even something like the Jerry Springer show, I think to myself, “There’s a janitor or a sound guy or a caterer that will be able to feed their families because this show exists.”

There are some very very negative aspects to some jobs, but I try to focus on how families are being fed and clothed because of sacrifices. When my white collar ego gets bloated and regards some jobs with distaste, I think about everyone else out there who aren’t doing what they really want to do, and I count myself damn lucky. Damn, damn lucky.