Earlier this week I received this message

The initial words the guides provided were “Don’t overlook the importance of working folk, the people who get dirty for a living. These people are the muscle behind what gets done and we praise their hard work. Without this strength and charisma, your world would be very different. You need to understand this so you don’t lose it.”

When I heard this I smiled. Blue collar hands-on jobs were always fun for me. You knew the people around you and could feel into their lives, there were no secrets. You knew when someone needed support and it was offered wholeheartedly. Material things rarely meant much but everything else did.

In recent years without the same capacity in manufacturing, I re-trained and shifted gears leading to a completely different dimension of work. I missed the big booming personalities on the shop floor of which I was one.

The guides continued, showing me people waiting for buses, carrying their lunch, and sitting peacefully looking forward to the day ahead. They showed me a very independent group who had the strength and ferocity to live without complaint. These people know who they are, what they stand for when to bust a friend’s balls, and when to stand down.

Continue reading “Different Stripes (message from the guides)” →