What labor means to me…

Amjed: 0:01

Happy Labor Day. So just looking at some of the history around Labor Day and I noticed that it was kind of born out of this as a holiday, out of the mistreatment of workers and long hours, low wages, just horrible conditions, especially as the US went into the industrial age. But in today's episode I reflect a little bit about work and labor and exertion of energy and effort toward creating something new or something different, and I hope you find it interesting. Thanks, hi. This is Amjad, a simple, broken man living in a complex world. Join me as I navigate the dark and bright spots of life, sharing vulnerably and reflecting deeply along the way. May you find some benefit here that is through me, not from me. I must warn you to enter at your own risk, for in this room my humanity is showing. Welcome to episode 39 of my Humanity is Showing, and I know I've. So this is 39 episodes in and I've been sharing that. I haven't found a good tagline to open up with and I stumbled across a weird idea because I was listening to some other YouTube channels and podcasts and things and I noticed that people come with like a weird name or like a nickname for their fan base or their audience and it's anyway. It's like they're a way to affectionately call out whoever's listening. And I was thinking what would be the name of a fan base for my humanity is showing or an audience base? I don't really want to call it a fan base. That just makes me want to throw up, yeah, cause I got. I hope I don't end up with a fan base. That's not the intent of this at all. But if there's an audience that's benefiting from it and listening to it consistently or more regularly, then maybe that's what I'm referring to. But you know, and I thought, wow, you're so humanites. And I was like, okay, that sounds dorky and really it's just humans, right, it's my fellow humans. So I don't know. I may play around with that a little bit and see how that works out. If you have any thoughts or ideas, please feel free to hit me up on umjidmyhumanityashowingcom to share me an email. I don't check it that often because I get like one email. I've only gotten a total of like four or five emails on that account so far, so I've been trying to at least go in a couple of times so we can take a look at it. Yeah, if you have any ideas. But I was thinking maybe, instead of opening up with welcome to episode number whatever, maybe it could be something like welcome my fellow humans to the next episode whatever. We could try that on for size and see how it looks. So, welcome to episode 39, my fellow humans. So today is Labor Day, 2023.

Amjed: 3:14

So it's September 4th and just a couple of things to report, just checking in, I had a belly button birthday two days ago and you know I was, you know I. Now I'm 51. So if you kind of went back to some of the earlier episodes, like the first episode, I think I it was about a month and a half after my birthday, my 50th birthday, and I'd been thinking about oh, when I turn 50, I'm gonna do something different. And so here we are, officially a year in, almost like we're getting close. I did miss some weeks in the middle. So I was just doing the math and maybe by the end of this calendar year I'll hit 52 episodes, which will equate to a full year, and maybe that'll put me on an annual cycle of, you know, a true 52 week weeks in the calendar year. But so you know, everything happens, for like everything kind of works out and everything happens for a reason I'm a believer in that things work out in one way or another, that they work out. And you know, maybe that time that I kind of stepped away for a few weeks was a way to set the clock so that it'll put me on that annual cycle. So, anyway, that's the first thing I just wanted to report that, you know, on my birthday and I mentioned that because you know my birthday is like an interesting time of the year for me it's like, you know, I got into this whole conversation with my family.

Amjed: 4:47

So my sister, my niece, had a birthday recently. She said couple of weeks, a few weeks older than me, and I say older than me, but you know what I mean. Like her birthday was before me and that was, yeah, no, my niece is not older than me, but yeah, few weeks. Her birthday comes a few weeks before me and my sister went out and got herself a cake and said that she was gonna celebrate having given birth on that day and that, you know, in reality it was. You know, she's the one who did all the work, she's the one who should celebrate. So it's like celebrating the giving of birth to my niece and I just thought that was funny.

Amjed: 5:25

And then my dad brought it up again yesterday and he was just like he's like, really, we should be celebrating our mom for all the trouble she went through to bring you into the world, you know, as opposed to you, and it's yeah, I mean, I'm personally, I'm totally okay with that, cause I acknowledge that I didn't really do a whole lot to come into the world. I didn't even really have a say in the matter per se. I wasn't cognizant or consciously aware of a choice that said, yeah, I want to come into the world. So, yeah, here I am and you know it's, you know, being that I struggle with a need for some affirmations.

Amjed: 6:08

My birthday tends to be, you know, that, one time of the year where a lot of folks that I don't get a chance to regularly talk to or communicate with will reach out to wish me and send me nice notes, and it's it's very affirming, it's very positive, and I don't know, I just really appreciate it. It's like one of my favorite times of the year. And again, it's not because I'm celebrating that whoa, look at me, I'm turned 51,. You know, it's more of. You know. I'm just grateful that I have so many people in my life that remember me, remember me in a positive way or still in touch with me, and so that that's really positive.

Amjed: 6:43

Yeah, so the other thing is I mentioned it's today's labor day and I thought maybe maybe I'll. You know, if you're following the podcast at all, you know I don't prepare. So I was just reflecting on, like what should I share about, and I have a couple of thoughts, but I was not in the mood to share about any of those yet. So I thought maybe I'll share about this concept of labor day or of, you know, like labor, and you know it's unlike some of the other days, like Memorial Day is celebrating those who gave their lives in battle, and you know there's the Indigenous People's Day, for the you know, the start of like just it was Columbus Day, for the day Columbus arrived, but that, you know, is not really inclusive, so just acknowledging those who were on the receiving end of that, and you know, with that, and so there's these different days. So what exactly is Labor Day?

Amjed: 7:42

And I was reflecting on that and I thought, you know, it's a chance to honor the workforce, the machine, you know all those, those cogs in the machine that keep things moving along and it reminds me of one of my songs that I sing along a lot at work. You may remember it's an old song from, I think, the late 70s or the 80s, something like that. You know Dolly Partner and Kenny Rogers, and it's Cogs in the Machine. That is what we are, no grease in between. How could we go wrong? You know, from one meeting to another. Yeah, it's kind of a feel some days it's like I'm running from one meeting to the next and you know, just a cog in the machine.

Amjed: 8:31

And you know I think about society and what it's like to be a member of a society, a contributing member of a society. That you know the work that I do. I'm grateful that the job that I have and the work that I do, it has a great impact in it and that there's, you know, I believe that there's a lot of people that benefit from the work that I do and that I have an opportunity to positively contribute to a greater mission. And so you know it's really cool and I don't mind putting the extra effort in for that and you know, as a result I'm able to put food on the table and all that.

Amjed: 9:17

But really at the end of the day, you know, if I was doing something that I felt was truly meaningless and I personally didn't find value in, then I don't know, like I don't know, if I would be able to keep up with. That, I guess, is what I'm saying. I don't know if I would be able to continue doing something just to do it. Or I'll take it even a step further and say what if I was doing, if I was in a situation where, in order to put food on the table and earn a living, I ended up getting a job or doing something that I found harmful or hurtful to others and you know I don't, I'm pretty sure, one that I wouldn't accept. I'd rather starve and die then then be in that situation. But you know, at the same time there, you know, like, if if, for some weird reason, I ended up there and Found myself in that situation, I I can see myself pulling out very quickly, because, you know, I definitely wouldn't want to be in a situation where one I didn't feel like I was contributing or, even worse, when I felt like I was harming and in. You know.

Amjed: 10:27

So I guess not all work is created equal. I don't know if that's a an Adequate comment or concept, but that's just a feeling or a belief that I have that not all work is created equal and even if it's a smaller contribution To you know, to feel like I'm contributing. Now I'm one of those people that for me to be happy, I the bigger the contribution, the more I feel like, okay, I'm doing something Helpful with helping a lot of people as opposed to just one person, but I'm okay with just helping even one person, but there has to be that helpful element, or I have become very quickly unsatisfied, and and that for me, is where, like you know, I know I shared in an earlier episode about burnout, and that's where burnout starts. For me is in that friction, in that sense of you know I'm, I can't believe I'm doing something when I'd rather be doing something else, or I'm doing something that I'd rather not be doing, and you know. So this, this idea of work, and you know I Again this without preparation, this all can just kind of coming to me, stream a consciousness here.

Amjed: 11:37

But I'm thinking about the physics definition, you know, like thinking about it from a physics perspective, you know that work involves applying force To an object, and I was never good at physics, I'm sure I'm gonna botch this up, but it's that idea of, like you know, apply, you know, like using some sort of energy to make a change in another, another object, and so I that the example that comes to mind is like the pushing the thing up the Plank or whatever you know, pushing a wedge up a plank or something like that, and that that would involve work, because there would have to be some energy expended to get something from a lower position to a higher position and go up a plank and possibly even work against friction. And and it's that, to me, that's what work is, it's I'm exerting effort, I'm exerting energy, I'm building, working on a particular thing To get it to a new, another state, to get it to a new position. Like, for example, I've been working on a pretty big project for the last year with a team, with an amazing team, and you know, together we've been, we started out and you know I jokingly told the team in the very beginning I kind of semi jokingly, but this is really what it felt like to me. I said we've been giving the task of molding fog Because initially it was just really unclear how would we even accomplish this task? It was so big and nebulous and there was, you know, a lot of you know potential controversial pieces and confusing pieces and Just really didn't even know how to wrap our heads around what it was we were trying to do and make a difference in it. And Really, you know, like, as a team, I don't know that any one of us wouldn't been able to accomplish a Fraction of what we were able to accomplish as a team and working together as a team and really contributing and and being in a situation where everyone felt safe to To offer their ideas and thoughts and concerns and differences.

Amjed: 13:48

And you know that it's really important to For me, it's really important to note that. You know, in order, in order to really make that change or that shift, I would have to be willing to put some effort in and and and work together as a team toward that. So, you know, I think about that From a perspective of you know, as I think about this Labor Day and that you know Kind of you know it's kind of funny I'm going full circle back to the birthday thing, because the other thought I had was, you know, we talk about a labor of love and the fact that birth Is also called going into labor, that when, when a baby is born, that is called going into labor. So I find that I find that connection interesting. I didn't I actually really didn't make that until just now, that I didn't see that connection point, even though it's so obvious that that's also.

Amjed: 14:55

You know there's effort being expended, energy and effort being expended to bring a new life into the world, and I Guess that's what, when I think about this concept of labor, that's what comes to mind is that you know it's Giving birth to something, bringing you know or or making a change in something. So, like this project, like it's, we're getting close to releasing the final results in the next, in the upcoming weeks, by the end of this month and At least a current version, and we've talked about going back over the next year and and continue to enhance and revise the work that we've done. But it almost feels like we're getting close to going into labor. You know it's like we're. We're getting close to that point where when you know it's time to deliver the baby, to release the labor. Of all this effort and you know there's at least one individual on the team was probably put the most Manual labor into a lot of this work or and then others that are close seconds to that.

Amjed: 16:00

But you know, I think that I Guess what I'm saying and I'm gonna pause my stream of consciousness here for a second and just say that, in a lot of ways, the labor that we do, the work that I do, it's what makes the earth continue to evolve and grow and, and you know, become the new version. Because, you know, it's like when you, when I think about so there's a, we were driving by, there's a huge, huge, huge factory being built seven minutes from our house and it's it's one of those like kind of gigafactory type things. And we were driving by it last night and we saw the construction site and we were talking about like wow, I wonder how long that's going to take. And I Mean I immediately, I don't even know the answer, but I mean it was like, oh, I can imagine it would take at least years, like at least a few years, to construct something that big. Because, you know, in order to create something of that magnitude, it involves a lot of work and Work takes time. You know, it's not, this is not a Marvel movie where I can Use the eye of Agamon nun to, like, you know fast-forward time it's. You know that there's it. Work takes time also, and a lot of ways, work takes resources. So I'm putting in time, energy, effort, money To create something different, to change either create something new or different, to change or evolve something, or to To introduce something new. And I don't know where I'm going with all that.

Amjed: 17:55

But just some random reflections, I guess, on this on this Labor Day, about what exactly is it that I'm Other than a day off. It's like, oh yay, I got a day off and not everybody has a day off. You know, I remember I remember somebody once sharing I heard this in a talk we were talking about how, you know, it was a holiday and and the family was watching, I think, a football game and they realized they were out of milk or something. I forgot what it was. They're out of milk or something like that. Like right in the middle of this, you know this holiday day, and they thought, oh my gosh, I really need, you know, we really need milk right now for us to be able to have this holiday meal that they were planning. And I'm saying milk. I don't know, sure, exactly if it was milk, but I'm pretty I feel like that's what it was. So this person ran to the nearby convenience store that happened to be open, grab some milk and, as they were checking out, looked at the person behind the counter and said thank you, thank you for working today so that I and my family can enjoy this holiday. And I don't know why, but that really struck me and I think about that all the time. I think about that all the time.

Amjed: 19:13

I think about it, particularly on weekends, like on a Saturday or Sunday, when I walk into a store and I'm able to finally do the shopping because I was working all week and I'm finally able to get the things that we need for the following week groceries, whatever that is so that you know we can make it through another week. And there's all these people working on a Saturday or Sunday even, and maybe they'd rather not be working on a Saturday. Maybe maybe they're Like a student, maybe this is their second job, or maybe there's a there a student. They spent the whole week studying and instead of being able to just take Saturday off, they're choosing to work. Maybe they need the extra cash, maybe that's they're paying for their own tuition and nobody else is there to foot the bill, so they, they have to put those extra hours in and, and so they're putting in work on a weekend when they could very easily be out by a lake somewhere or asleep or Binging on the latest you know show on one of the streaming media platforms. But instead, there they are providing a service so that my family and I Can get the stuff that we need on a weekend, because we just don't have the flexibility to go get it on a weekday.

Amjed: 20:36

And I think about it especially on holidays as well, when everybody's taking off to relax and enjoy the holiday and there's somebody working and you know people say like, well, they're getting a holiday pay, it's time and a half. And you know like, yeah, they're getting paid a little bit more for it, potentially or they should be at least and but that doesn't mean that that's where they prefer to be. I mean, they could very easily be doing something else, and maybe there's some hardships that are putting them there and maybe there's not, you know, maybe they're just in a situation where like, yeah, I can work, no, big deal Doesn't matter to me, I don't really have much else to do, and maybe that in and of itself is something that you know, people who are in a situation where they're just giving a lot of their life to their work. You know, I heard a saying. I hear this often. Actually, it's like I am not my job or I'm not my work kind of concept that you know I have a job, I do it, but that doesn't necessarily define me as a person. It shouldn't in a healthy situation, maybe that shouldn't be the main focus of my life. Which reminds me of another one Boy, I'm going to stream a consciousness today, for sure.

Amjed: 22:01

I heard somebody say this once. They said that you know it was a talk on higher power and they were talking about, like, how do you define what your God is, or if you have a God, or if you have a higher power, or something that you quote, unquote worship, and you know, maybe you're an atheist, but regardless, like there, maybe there's something that you believe in really strongly and you know, this person said I just thought that's so interesting. This person said take all the things that you spend time thinking about in a day that you divert mental and emotional energy toward, and put it on a pie chart and the one, the largest slice, if there is one, there's like a large slice somewhere in that thing, or the larger slices of that pie chart. Those are your quote unquote higher powers. Those are the things that you're devoting your time and energy and attention to, that are primary of your focus.

Amjed: 23:06

And I know for me, recently it's felt like there have been times where in the last several years, that that largest slice has been work, that I dream about work, I think about it, I contemplate on it. That's all cause I love what I do, and so that's why I feel like I don't burn out on it. I just really, really, really enjoy it. But the question I have to ask myself and that I've been asking myself lately is that but is that really what I want to be the largest slice? And maybe the answer is yes, maybe the answer is yes, that's where I want my largest slice to be. But it's not what I've said. My whole life Cause, my whole life I've said it's faith and family first, faith, family and health first. And I feel like all three of those have taken a second seat to work lately and I say lately like I mean literally in the last several years, maybe 10, 10, 15 years it's been, and that's been by choice. It's not because I've been in jobs that were forcing me to do that. It's.

Amjed: 24:13

You know, I, I, you know, in a lot of ways, I choose the jobs that I choose, I apply to them, I compete for them, I work hard to get them, and then when I'm in them, I say yes to everything and I'm like, oh yeah, I wanna do that, I wanna do that, I wanna do that. And it's difficult for me to unplug and say, okay, I'm just not going to, I'm gonna spend a couple of days focused on my family, like even on the weekend, and I'm just gonna focus on spending time with them and giving them attention. And usually, when the weekend comes around, if I don't not thinking about work you know again, binging on some show or just finding a way to pass the time in a way, or I'm just not feeling well because I haven't been prioritizing my health. So, yeah, you know, there's a lot of different ways that I can do work, like even if I say, okay, I wanna focus on family, like right now we're planning a trip overseas and there's a lot of work going into planning this trip, like booking hotels and transportation and trying to figure out the dates and finally bought the plane tickets, and there's just a lot of effort and work going into that. We've talked about establishing a will or a trust fund in case, you know, haven't forbid if something happens to us that you know everything is clear with our, what we have, so that our kids don't have to struggle trying to figure out, you know, like, what to do with our stuff. And there's a lot of work in preparing for this trip that we're really excited about.

Amjed: 25:56

So anything, what's that Gosh? Now I came up with another. What is that other saying it's like anything worth doing is worth doing. Well, is that what it is? Okay, maybe that, nevermind, maybe that's not the right quote for this situation, but it's just the idea that if I'm gonna put effort into something, then it should be worth doing. I guess is where I was going with that quote, even though I don't think it's the right quote. But you know, if I'm gonna put all that much work into it, it should be something that I wanna do that's worth doing, that's meaningful to me, and it's where I want my pie chart to be today. It's like where I want the largest slice to be.

Amjed: 26:37

So happy Labor Day. I'm not sure is that the right way to wish somebody on Labor Day. I don't even know what the proper greeting is for Labor Day. It's like happy, not working day. Unless you're working, oh boy.

Amjed: 26:55

Anyway, let me stop there before this gets any worse, and we will pull out a random message of the day and hold on, let me grab it. I had actually we had gone out of town this weekend and I took all my stuff with me, so I threw all the little messages in the Ziploc. So let me pour them out, mix them up, see if I can grab one. Okay, random message of the day from a fortune cookie. Let's see what, oh why is fortune cookies? What do you have for us today? All right, why is? Sorry, I have to laugh. I just said why is fortune cookie? What do you have for us? And I pull out the very first word on the fortune cookie thing is wise. I thought that it's a boy. Funny serendipity there. Anyway, wise people, wise men, isn't that song?

Amjed: 27:51

Anyway, wise people avoid trouble while fools search for them. So interesting concept. So it's saying what it's I'm hearing in this, and let's see what my reaction is to it, is that you know trouble. If I'm wise, then I will avoid trouble, and if I'm a fool. I will go and search of it. Yeah, a couple of reactions.

Amjed: 28:20

I'm not entirely sure I agree with that, because I feel like it depends on how you define trouble, like if trouble means that I am causing trouble or harm to others, that I'm causing discord and contention, and you know, then, yeah, as the older I'm getting which I don't know let's assume that that involves a little bit of additional wisdom.

Amjed: 28:46

I feel like the more I try to avoid being the source of chaos for people instead of going and search for it.

Amjed: 28:52

But at the same time, like if I think of trouble as disruption to the status quo to bring innovation and creation and new ideas, then I almost feel like brave people sometimes search for that trouble and it's, you know, there's a little bit of courage and saying, you know, we're gonna go against the grain here and see if there's a better way, if there's a better path, if there's a better whatever or a different.

Amjed: 29:21

You know, and sometimes that's what I aspire for is I aspire to be, you know, the person who is kind of pushing on that edge, even though I, you know, I struggle with courage sometimes but just really being that person who's searching. And last thing I'll say is my kids have been trying to. They've been telling me about One Piece, the manga anime, for like a million years now, and now that the live action is out I've been kind of watching that. So it's like all of a sudden I have this picture of Luffy and the crew like in a boat out in search of trouble. But anyway, I just had to throw that in there because it's been top of mind lately. Okay well, thanks again for the opportunity to share some of my journey and my thoughts and my reflections and, as always, if you find some benefit here, hope to see you again. Take care Bye.