In current times jobs and work have become tough. From little to no work to jobs that that require us to deal with bad mindsets and misguided intentions we are facing challenges in work and life that are difficult at times. We should all strive to work and make our living in a way that’s more “conscious” or aware. This generally means not selling harmful items such as lies, drugs, and services that harm other people, but it goes deeper than that.
There’s ultimately two aspects to this: making a living by doing something which doesn’t inhibit your own ability to realize peace and making a living doing something which doesn’t inhibit others ability to realize peace. Facing this can lead to some interesting situations for some people, and as Thich Nhat Hanh has mentioned this is a collective effort as opposed to a solely personal one (the butcher isn’t a butcher only because he decided to be, but because there is a demand from people for meat to be neatly packaged and made available for them to be purchased from supermarkets), but you should strive to do your best.
Following the teaching on right livelihood can help you realize the harmful effect that your own work is having on you and therefore coming up with a solution can result in a largely positive shift in your life as a whole. Only you can decide if a change needs to happen, though. Whatever the case, seek to make a living doing something that promotes the peace and happiness of yourself and those around you as much as possible.
Peace and Love, Jim
