"The power of a personal sense of meaning to change the experience of work, of relationship, or even of life cannot be overestimated....Meaning is strength....Indeed, competence and expertise are two of the most respected qualities....in our society. But important as they are, they are not sufficient to fully sustain us.
A great Italian psychiatrist, Roberto Assagioli, wrote a parable about interviewing three stonecutters building a cathedral in the fourteenth century....When he asks the first stonecutter what he is doing, the man replies with bitterness that he is cutting stones into blocks, a foot by a foot by three quarters of a foot. With frustration, he describes a life in which he has done this over and over, and will continue to do it until he dies. The second stone cutter is also cutting stones into blocks, a foot by a foot by three quarters of a foot, but he replies in a somewhat different way. With warmth, he tells the interviewer that he is earning a living for his beloved family; through this work his children have clothes and food to grow strong, he and his wife have a home which they have filled with love. But it is the third man whose response gives us pause. In a joyous voice, he tells us of the privilege of participating in the building of this great cathedral, so strong that it will stand as a holy lighthouse for a thousand years.
The important thing in this parable is that all three of the expert stonecutters are doing the same repetitive physical task....Competence may bring us satisfaction. Finding meaning in a familiar task often allows us to go beyond this and find in the most routine of tasks a deep sense of joy and even gratitude."
--from Kitchen Table Wisdom, by Rachel Naomi Remen
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