It's easy to slip into the pattern of identifying with our jobs so much that we seem to be our jobs. Whenever this happens, we are creating a sense of Self and Other just as surely as we do when we buy the currently most fashionable gas-guzzling car to build up our egos. We are no more what we do than we are what we have. At the other extreme, we can create an equally compelling sense of Self and Other by seeing work only as a source of income with no consideration of whether it contributes to our community or even whether what we do causes harm to others. Because of its impact on those around us, our work must always be an integral part of our spiritual practice.

May I mindfully recognize
my work as an opportunity
to extend my spiritual practice
even as I am fulfilling
my obligations.

Jean Smith in Now! The Art of Being Truly Present