Yes, when I was in Egypt, I saw a lot of poverty. One of the most difficult sites was to see 5 year olds selling napkins to my children, about the same age.

I think this discussion also relates to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. One can’t focus on spiritual concerns until the basics of food and shelter are first met.

I want to hear more about the story of how you ended up in China. Have you already written about this?

I’d echoed Bill’s thoughts here “All other callings (including tech writing) are means toward that one great goal.”

In most people’s eyes, I wouldn’t be considered religious but
I try to go the extra yard whenever possible. For me, this is to do with one’s personal values. What gives each of our lives a meaning.

For example, here in China, people are not ‘religious’, i.e. no one goes to mass on Sunday and there are no religious shows on TV. Even ‘spirituality’ isn’t discussed. So much for the mystical east!

But the people work like Trojans. It never stops here. The pressure to succeed is incredible. I see women work on construction sites and they never stop.

So, when you say “If you have this sense of spirituality about your work, you’ll be more dedicated and hard-working” I think you’re referring to us folks who have the luxury to make this choice. These people work incredible hard. It’s very humbling. One guy spent 20 minutes crawling across the street… he had no feet. Horrible things to see. Hard to go back to Twitter when you see these things.

I think you were in Egypt and you’ve no doubt seen the slums there. It’s hard to have a sense of spirituality when you’re living in these conditions. I know you can of course, but life is a stress test for these folks every day.

I’ve learned to be a little more grateful over here and I hope, by extension, it rubs off on our son. I think we forget how fortunate we are sometimes.

Ivan

Ultimately, though, my calling is to glorify Jesus Christ. All other callings (including tech writing) are means toward that one great goal.

There can also be a dangerous side effect to all this, which we as professionals need to watch out for. I’ve seen unreasonable expectations placed on workers when their dedication is taken for granted. For example, you’re passionate about the environment, so you won’t mind working a ton of (unpaid) overtime on this project. Or you’ll be willing to espouse such-and-such political viewpoint.

For many of us the “calling” comes from within: I’ll do the best work I can for the sake of my good name. Or to be a good exemplar of the faith that I espouse. Or simply because it’s the right thing to do.