Elul Day 26

Dear Elul Writers,

For the transgression we have committed by falling into internet rabbit holes.

I can’t say how Casey and I heard about the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, but we did. I can’t say how we ended up spending time on their web page, but we did. I can’t say how we spent the better part of an hour on their job portal, but we certainly did! It was on this jobs page that I realized there was a whole world of zoo employment that I had never even considered. Here are a few of the listings we encountered:

Curator of Fish and Inverts
Lorikeet Keeper-Temporary
Pacific Pocket Mouse Research Assistant
Butterfly Attendant (Part Time)
Aquarist- Jellies
Part Time Houston Toad Keeper

As we conclude our Labor Day here in the states, I thought this would be an appropriate time to consider all of the varieties of work that keep our world going. From social workers to lorikeet keepers, from aquarists to attorneys, from middle school teachers to butterfly attendants, we all seek to make the world better, while also making a living. And, of course, the job titles that we have are only a small part of who we are as human beings. 

Buddhist practitioner and teacher, Jack Kornfield in his book The Wise Heart offers a reminder that it is important to see our labor, not as the essence of who we are, but as one of many elements that make up our identity. 

To be wise we need to be able to enter each role fully, with awareness and compassion, and let it go when our part is done. When we marry we have to let go of being single. When our children become adults, we have to let go of our old role of helping them manage their life. When we take a new job or leave one, retire, or change from employee to manager, we need to let one role and take up another. We can be free only if underneath all these temporary roles we do not forget that they are not who we really are.

Prompt

Our work is important, whether we are in finance or the film industry, performing childcare or performing surgery. Yet, lest we forget it, I’ll remind us that we are more than our titles; we are more than our salaries. On this 26th night of Elul, I invite you to celebrate a role that you play in your life that may not be your full-time job (e.g. beloved uncle, caring neighbor, devoted volunteer, conscientious child). Alternatively, reflect on a role that you are hoping to step back from this year. How might letting go of this role help you step into a new way of being in the year to come? All of our roles are temporary, let’s not forget who we really are.

Take care,

Jordan
Campus Rabbi and Aspiring Pacific Pocket Mouse Research Assistant