When do you know a piece is finished? In other words, when can you rest knowing your work is complete?
Our relationship to work in the United States is complex but statistically we are considered the most overworked country in the world. In a traditional culture one’s identity was often related to your role in your family and work was simply a means to sustain the family. That is not true today; in fact, most moderns get their identity from the work they do. So, it is easy to understand why so many of us attempt to justify our existence through our work. Part of our compulsion to work relates to the uncertainty surrounding our employment. The lack of job security in our system leaves us feeling continually vulnerable and pressured to prove ourselves — to demonstrate our worth to others. Our work stresses have been exacerbated by technology that allows us to work from anywhere at any time — making it difficult to stop working. Technology also helps perpetuate an illusion that we are masters of our destiny or are in control of the increase that comes from our efforts. With all these pressures it is easy to see how people can become worn down and burnt out.
We all have a need for rest, but rest is not just about stopping our work or doing nothing. We can set aside various tasks or go on a vacation but still feel the aching perpetual need to prove or justify ourselves — to further our professional goals. True rest requires a level of satisfaction in what we have accomplished. This is a hard nut to crack as a maker because there is always something that can be tweaked or improved. In a real sense there is no end to our work. We must develop strategies for determining when our work is done, having reached a satisfactory conclusion given a particular set of circumstances. True rest requires us to acknowledge we have limits and don’t maintain total control. It’s similar to a farmer, who must plant, sow and harvest while simultaneously accepting that they can’t make it rain, control when the sun rises or stop a flood. We all need to rest in what we have done and what we have accomplished with the time, effort and available resources at our disposal — knowing we have done our best. Only then can we step back and truly rest from our toil.