"Education is
the kindling of a flame,
not the filling of a vessel."
-- Socrates
Way back in 1972, I listened to a record where a guy said that there are only three jobs in life. He said they were, filling the things that are empty, emptying the things that are full, and scratching where it itches. Of course, it was funny at the time, but it is also very accurate. In fact, over these many years, I have looked at all kinds of jobs, businesses, professions, and activities and trying to decide where they fall in the three jobs of life. Many overlap and cover more than one, and sometimes, even all three jobs.
If you had asked me what was the job of education, I would have said without hesitation that it was filling the things that are empty. I now know that it is scratching where it itches.
A garbage worker's job is to empty the things that are full, but it is also to fill the things that are empty (the landfill, the truck, etc.), but mainly it is to scratch where it itches. Why the last one? Just imagine the garbage people on strike for a couple of months. As simple as we may think a garbage worker's job is, it is not so simple. It is not menial, but extremely important. In fact, I think of at home garbage collection and recycling as a joy to me. I can remember the time when there was no such thing and we had to deal with the garbage in our own ways.
It's really been fun all these years to use that tidbit of knowledge learned in 1972, which I find myself using all the time. It's fun to think about different jobs and how they fit in that basic philosophy. I haven't found any yet that don't fit.
Where Do The Tasks That You Do Fit Into The Three Jobs Of Life?
Spread Some Joy Today--Well, since you're here, you might as well have some fun with it, don't you think?
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