Work or calling?

There is an incident, perhaps apocryphal, relating to Christopher Wren, an English architect responsible for building several monuments including St Paul's Cathedral. One day while supervising the work in the cathedral, he noticed three bricklayers. The first was working in a disinterested, sluggish manner, the second, a bit better. The third was working diligently, a smile on his face, obviously proud of what he was doing. Wren asked the bricklayers, 'What are you doing?' The first bricklayer replied, 'I am laying bricks.' The second said, 'I am building a cathedral.' And the third replied, 'I am building a house of God.'

Each of them had the same occupation and were perhaps getting the same wages too. Their perspectives, however, differed dramatically. In the language of psychologists, the first had a job, the second, a career, and the third, a calling. When you have a calling, it means you have passion - passion for doing the work well. Excellence is the natural consequence. One look at the magnificent St Paul's Cathedral and you would exclaim that this is the work not of some perfunctory workers but bricklayers who had a calling.

What a wonderful world it would be if everyone of us made whatever work we are doing, our calling. A world where excellence rules. If everyone was pursuing excellence, it would mean people working with commitment, integrity and in harmony. Such a society will necessarily be a good society.