'Work' does not seem to me to be about those allegorical thorns. I'll put up Jos Campbell over the anonymous Puritannical authoring-committee you quote -- such as created a huge group of folks constantly engaged in judging the Worthiness of their fellows (completely missing that beam while zooming in on the mote.. yada yada) I encounter few who actually grok that (quite ancient) metaphor of the Garden - and the symbology of 'knowledge' and 'duality'. Most take it Literally. And you can't do a thing with that Literal - except suffer endless imaginations. And infect a whole new generation. as since the very first Misunderstanding.

If your 'work' is in an area you love - then it is neither thorn-filled nor demeaning. Perpetual punishment for allegorical 'crimes' is one Hell of an alternative to, follow your bliss. (And bliss has little to do with 'pleasure' - as the doggerel so often confuses). Those thorns go with the Shmoo analogy too: born pregnant Guilty! No dice on that lugubrious fantasy, here. It has led to all those wars - begun by those who can't manage metaphor for what it Is.

Besides, all past 'works' which we remember, celebrate today -- were done by folks who did what they did for love of the task (sometimes aided by their realizing that it also helped one's fellow Judges homo-saps). I believe that it is realizing this.. what it feels like to Love what your work is - that's what adults are obliged to demonstrate to their kids. Pref by example. [Rilly Hard that last, from a cubical cubicle - I wot]


Cheers, luck to the kids! They'll need a lot of that - headed lately as they are, to become cannon fodder before they can even become disillusioned first, with just bizness aggression.

Ashton