Consider the Bee

Live a CHARMED Life!

CHARMED

D

Daily Passage

Reflections

I love to work! I love to work with my hands! I love to create! When I live the life I love, it is a life of producing. I look to the bee, and I am delighted. I am inspired. Look with me now; see the bee emerge into the throat of a flower. Covered in pollen, she staggers out of the flower’s throat and hurries home to mix up the honey. The honey is for the good of the hive; her work benefits the hive and also the flowers and so the world.

Throughout The Book of Proverbs as we have been reading, much advice is centered on working, on being productive. The wise are active. In verses three and 27, the wise build their house and and in verse 4, they fill it with riches. In verse 5, the wise are not only strong but are getting stronger. In verse 12 and again in 29, a rhetorical question is posed: will not one be given that according to the work of his hands?

The chapter ends with a narrative about the importance of work. The narrator shares, “I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man” (30 - 34).

Clearly, there is wisdom of living a fruitful life through good, honest work. But what kind of work? To what end? At the center of today’s reading, in verses 13 and 14, the narrator, who has been introduced early as the king urges his son to eat honey because it is good. Having wisdom through work is to be enjoyed. There is a delight directly correlated to this work the son is to do. We are the son, the children of the king. The students of the solar. We are Lady Wisdom who builds her house. We are to work and to delight in it. Our work is not to bring us pain and suffering but as Shakespeare suggest - it physics pain - meaning it cures it. If we are working, and we are miserable in what we do, we need to rethink just what it is we are doing. Follow your heart. Notice what it is that brings you joy, and do that - the reward will be sweeter than honey.

There is a beautiful hymn in the Methodist hymnal that I grew up singing that I am thinking of now. I can still hear my family congregation singing it there in the little church in the woods: hum hum hum hum hum huuuuming. . . “Work for the night is coming.” I wish I could play and sing it for you now. I will leave you with the words below.

Work, for the Night is Coming by Annie Lousia Coghill

Work, for the night is coming,
Work thru the morning hours;
Work while the dew is sparkling,
Work 'mid springing flow'rs.
Work when the day grows brighter,
Work in the glowing sun;
Work, for the night is coming,
When man's work is done.

Work, for the night is coming,
Work thru the sunny noon;
Fill brightest hours with labor -
Rest comes sure and soon.
Give ev'ry flying minute
Something to keep in store;
Work, for the night is coming,
When man works no more.

Work, for the night is coming,
Under the sunset skies;
While their bright tints are glowing,
Work, for daylight flies.
Work till the last beam fadeth,
Fadeth to shine no more;
Work, while the night is dark'ning,
When man's work is o'er.

work

The labor we delight in physics pain.

— William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act II

Eight Affirmations of Gratitude

• I am grateful for the work of my hands.

• I am thankful for all of the work that I have completed in my life.

• An give thanks for all of the work of have yet to do.

• I am thankful for the joy work brings.

• I am thankful for the abundance my work brings.

• I give thanks for the skills I have developed through work.

• I am thankful that the work I enjoy really does cure pain, just as Shakespeare wrote.

• I am grateful that when I consider the bee and especially the worker bee, and the sweetness of the honey that the bee produces, I am inspired to work with joy and expect a sweet return.

Questions to Consider

• Does the work that I do in my life bring me and others joy?

• Do I need to reconsider why I work?

• How can I be more thankful of the work I am already involved in?

Blessings

Thank you for joining me. May you delight in the work of your hands and mind, and may it bring you great health and joy. Love and light to you my friends. Namaste.

*Note:

CHARMED, is an acronym that I have developed, related to abundant living. There are seven letters, one for each day of the week. While I encourage you to touch on all of the letters on a daily basis, one letter will be highlighted each day.

In CHARMED, D stands for dance. Click on the D in the card posted above and go to a page full of ways to celebrate the life you are living. I encourage you to peruse the page and try one of the proposed practices to get your charm on as quickly as possible.