Work

Field conditions are taking a toll on my health. I have not been sleeping or eating properly. As I have to wake up every two hours and feed the puppies – fortunately some of them have begun to transition to solid food. That’s good. As it means they can go on a regular diet – I still have to feed Shadow like a baby though…she is a bit slow. But that is OK. Shadow sleeps in my boot.

On the work side. It is scorching hot during the day. I am completely blackened by the sun….I saw myself in the mirror today. I shuddered momentarily at the stranger looking back at me…he looked forlorned and slightly lost…I could hardly recognise myself – I look darkened…I must make an effort to shave and comb my hair and dress well. The heavy machinery came in at dusk…earth works will start tomorrow. I will have to supervise work like a hawk to make sure everything is straight as an arrow. I will have to delineated the trenches, bunds and finalise how to plant the seedlings – it is very labor intensive as I need to survey the land and make sure what I plan can be translated into reality. Usually reality and theory doesn’t quite march perfectly and I have to constantly fine tune with calculations….it is very time consuming and demands all my concerntration.

I find myself making silly mistakes all the time…as I am tired.

On the bright side, Shadow seems to have paired off with another pup – her name is Mao Mao. I have called her that as her Mouth Always Open. What it means or what she wants is still not clear yet…puppies are like that…Mao Mao will keep Shadow company when I work.

I hope Mao Mao doesn’t eat Shadow.

——————————————————————————

‘When a man dedicates himself to labor, it is absolutely vital for him to take exceptional pride in his work – it matters very little what this man does to earn his keep. He could well be a high and mighty minister or even a janitor. But to me it is the same….it is absolutely vital for this man to cultivate the highest level of pride in his work.

Without pride in work it’s simply just a way to get by in life…nothing more or less. When pride is imbued in work…only then does it have the power to transform itself into something greater and more meaningful.

The Cantonese have a saying – ‘Lor Tak heih, Fong tak Lok’ – it means what I can pick up…I can also put down. This meaning of this saying is somewhat lost in the translation. For one it is usually uttered with verve and forcefulness denoting manliness, duty and honor….it is to say what I decided to do I will see thru to the very end….I will bear the unbearable stoically and calmly like a man….but once I have made to decision to do it….I will see it to it’s very end.

This is a saying that is unique to only the Cantonese – as they are a discriminated race in China…the Cantonese were always seen by the Han Chinese as troublemakers since ancient times. So they had to bear many inequities ranging from oppression to discrimination – despite this, they have thrived in mercantilism…as the Cantonese is accustomed to suffering…he rarely ever complains and is very accustomed to working under less than ideal conditions.

This attitude towards work is very important if one genuinely desires to me successful in life – as when one looks around…there are so many bullshiters and half men who do not seem to take any pride in their work these days….I don’t want to offensive. But even for ministers, there are many who are just there for all the too obvious reasons, but they don’t nearly take as much pride in their work as they should to really make a difference. As a result many suffer because of their lack.

In the same way when a man short changes himself by either cutting corners, passing the buck or kicking the can down the road – then he desecrates his work…sullies his work and makes it a despicable thing. Many vocations suffer from this negative label because the people who do such work do not regularly take pride in their work…..hence the quality of his work can only suffer and he will always create plenty of problems for others to fix….those who are unfortunate to come across this scoundrel will curse him!

Because not only does he cheat others….but he also very accustomed to short changing himself till he stands for very little except maybe settling for contempt in the eyes of many.

But for the man who knows how to take up a thing and to put it down gracefully – he will never take shortcuts….he will never betray himself or for that matter desecrate his labor…that very idea is beneath him…it is an effrontery to the whole notion of dignity of labor and since it runs counter to his work ethic. He will take the high road even it means incurring hardship to always deliver quality and delivery reliability and satisfaction….as his labor is his hallmark of who he is and what he stands for.

Study and research this well if you don’t want to end up as a bullshiter in life.

You can lie to everyone in this world….but you can never lie to yourself!’