DEFINE "HARD WORK"

Today I was listening to Public Radio, as is my wont.  All of a sudden the topic of hard work came up.  The host of the program was interviewing people who had achieved something great along the way of life.  The one that grabbed my attention was the biography of a woman who has conquered white slavery and become a tenured full professor at UCLA.  When she finished her story, the host then went on to introduce an expert on the effects of hard work on the human body and in the human mind.  Fortunately, I had arrived at a point just 100 yards away from my destination, so I missed the whole thing, except the inane introduction.  It did, however make me think.  I cannot remember if I ever paused to talk about my philosophy of work, and precisely, hard work.  Let me run a search to see if the "hard work" label occurs in the "365 Thoughts..." universe.  I'll get back to you.
[5 minutes later] Brace yourselves...62 hits in the search for "hard work."  Wow!  I didn't think anyone could say so many things about "hard work" as that.  That equals 11.524% of the time I have written on these pages, I talked even just a little bit about "hard work."  How could I do that?  I know that I am not afraid of hard work.  Jiminy Cricket, I could sleep next to it all day and and wake up happy.  However today I did get a little philosophical about it.
Ready?  Here we go.
Age 12 -- Cleaning the sluicing brook behind the auto body shop
Age 14 -- Working on the tobacco farms (2 Summers)
Age 17 -- Working on a construction site (I know, I was an illegal) Trust me, by any  
                 definition, that was hard work
Age 18 -- Working in a print shop specializing in comic books and in cheap $0.25 
                 pornographic (text only) pocket books (worked there for 5 Summers)
I was in the seminary in the farming country of New Hampshire and we pitched in to perform the maintenance and farming tasks that had to be done.  Yes, some of it was dangerous...lumber jacking, for example; slaughtering cattle and a host of other stuff that goes into the maintenance of a 1,500 acre property and a full service farm.
Talk about hard work?  So far I have only mentioned categories that are generally conceded to be "hard work."  But remember, I am a polyglot with a masters degree.  So, I have a different definition of hard work than you'll find in John L. Lewis's note books. Nevertheless I venture into other classes of "hard work."
Decision making based on an abundance of education and a penury of experience.  Learning a foreign language so that you can help other people make conscience decisions without leading them astray.  Managing a $ 1,000,000 budget of tithe collections to the liking of your parishioners and the strict expectations of your boss.  When you were 30 years old, full of P... and vinegar, did you ever try to talk some serious truth to the 60 year old, crusty codger who didn't give a sweet flying fig how much education you had?  Friend, That is HARD WORK.
Then, I got older.  Then I had to remember the "hard work" that I had done when I was 30.  I have to tell you, those 60 somethings who had to listen to me when I was 30 were doing hard work.  I was a handful...in fact, a whole bushel basket full.  Now, I am even older than that and I work for a company in Europe and I have to meet European deadlines from California, and they are set by those European 30 somethings!  Hey, amigos, I'm here to tell you that it is hard work even though I don't even have to comb my hair to go to work.
Interestingly enough, I haven't mentioned the two years that I drove a medical transport van over mainly city streets.  250 to 300 miles per day.  
How about the airport mini-van to transport passengers and their luggage to and from airports?  16 to 18 hour days six days per week...Sunday I took a break and only worked 8 hours.  


See?  There are many definitions of hard work.  Physical, mental and emotional.  
None of the three can escape the three forces that cause the work to be hard.
Short, but powerful intensity (weight, risk, probable consequences).  Long, continuous demand for engaged involvement.   Disciplined maintenance of smooth, collaborative human relationships to provide high quality outcomes.


All three of these clumps of reality can be deleterious to your health if they are not managed well.  I know, first hand.  Hard work did not kill me, but my gluttony for it nearly did.  Don't let it do it to you...don't do it to yourself.  Because I learned my lesson, you won't have to cry at my funeral.