Labor free day

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Why, I wonder, do we need a day to commemorate the idea of labor? I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t labor, who is living a labor free life. Do you? I’m not just talking about all the teeming masses who work for a living. People carry extraordinary burdens. Especially when they labor under so many false beliefs about life.

I propose that we have a new thought about Labor Day. Originally designated as a holiday to honor laborers and their contribution to society, Labor Day has become, like July 4th, a day to barbeque, shop, and have fun with our loved ones.

We should all spend a vacation in the Maldives.
We should all spend a vacation in the Maldives.

Yet it offers us, as Independence Day does with freedom, an opportunity to look deeper at the true meaning of labor. Labor is hard work as in to labor under; and also means giving birth to, as in creating a new world/life/idea. As I look at the world we are creating, I often ask myself, “Are we having good labor pains?” Giving birth to anything new is often a messy process, so why do we work hard to foster viewpoints and commonly accepted limitations that no longer serve us?

Just looking at our media headlines I can see that we are addicted to drama. “If it bleeds it leads” is still the norm. Society labors under the mistaken notion that to be in pain and crisis is to be alive. Any story that doesn’t highlight suffering is considered to be a fluff piece. It’s considered the alternative to reality. Haven’t we labored under that false belief long enough?

Our human race strives more for competition than cooperation, assured that in every situation someone should win and someone should lose. The sad fact is that even if you win the rat race, you’re still a rat. Sounds like false labor pains to me.

How many of us are weighed down by mistaken thoughts and feelings about our self-identity? Where did these self-judgments really come from? You know the ones I’m talking about: I’m not good enough, smart enough, rich enough, thin enough … They sound like another version of S.I.N. – Self Inflicted Nonsense. If these false images didn’t come from you, do they serve the person you are right now? After all, whose life is this anyway?

Sometimes the very things that could unite us prove to be the most divisive of all. The belief in the God known by many names, experienced through a religious or spiritual path of our own choosing, has the potential to engage us in a deep and enlightening universal conversation. But so many people still labor under the rule that you just don’t talk about politics or religion. We wouldn’t walk around wearing the same clothes we wore as children, so why would we carry around the same ideas about God and religion?

Even when we find a philosophy that works, it may need some tweaking. There’s a pervasive belief that the spiritual path to enlightenment is hard work. There are books to read, mantras to chant, classes to attend, prayers to invoke, good to attract, conditions to deny, food to avoid and, most of all, there are parents and children to forgive. That’s a lot of work! As for me, I’m all about following your bliss.

Facebook meme
Facebook meme

What encumbrances are you laboring under? Are you ready to release them? Today is the day to shake free of all those heavy burdens and become the change you want to see in the world. Let them all go, gather your friends, and enjoy a Labor Free Day.

May peace be your journey …

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Through her ministry, “Doorway Into The Infinite”, Rev. Maria holds the vision for the transformation of the consciousness of planet earth. She is a spiritual change agent committed to… educating people in the process of healing… empowering the world one creative thought at a time… and experiencing peace in our lifetime. Her articles, essays, and meditations have been published in various magazines. She has self-published numerous books and manuals, and released two recordings of guided meditations. She’s created a variety of classes, workshops, and spiritual performance pieces, where she expresses her profound interest in spirituality and peace. For more information, she can be reached at her website: www.be-the-change.com or at her e-mail: [email protected]

 (Top photo by Hn via Flickr)