Is loving life's labor to be intimate with life's innermost secret?

When you work you are a flute through
whose heart the whispering of the hours
turns to music.

Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent,
When all else sings together in unison?

Always you have been told that work is
a curse and labour a misfortune.
But I say to you that when you work you fulfill
a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you
when the dream was born,

And in keeping yourself with labor you
are in truth loving life,
and to love life's labor is to be intimate
with life's innermost secret.

From The Profit by Khalil Gibran (by way of Inspire by Lance Secretan)

To love life's labor - seems more like fulfilling a calling - rather than work.

Angelo - who runs Willow Beach Convenience Store - is someone who unquestionably loves life's labor - and who I think has found his calling.

It's hard not to be drawn to people like Angelo - they do seem to hold a secret. There aren't that many who come to my mind - the No Crap Lama, in Jiri, just outside of Nepal, is one - a cab driver in Vancouver, another..

A friend Linda, a gardener, who tends her garden even late into the night if the moon is full enough for her to work.

She told me about Willow Beach on Lake Simcoe. We went there on one of the busiest days of the summer - Angelo's son was working the bbq stand outside and serving ice-cream at the Convenience inside. Angelo was on his hands and knees scrubbing the floor. I was curious to find out why. That was the beginning of a number of return visits this summer.

"Mister," I can hear Angelo saying. "I love my work. What else would I be doing?"
"What about your TV, or your couch Angelo?" I replied.
"But I love the people."
And with his wide, well worked hand passing across a narrow parkette that he own's, beyond which the sun was setting into a golden lake.
"I love the view, Mister."
"What about winter Angelo."
"Winter is beautiful here."
"But there can't be many people." I added.
"There's a few ice fisherman out on the lake."
"But it must be cold."
"Oh on some days. One day last winter I had to move the BBQ right in front of this window, and work the BBQ from inside the store."
"You ran the outside BBQ all winter!" I said shocked.
"Yes, last year I only missed one day. It was a real storm that day - minus 40 and blowing off the lake."
I was a bit shocked and disbelieving, so Angelo, ushered me over to some pictures on the wall of his Convienence in winter - he had some supporting visual aids.
"See how beautiful it is, Mister."
What marketing I thought, now I feel like visiting Angelo in winter.
I looked at the pictures and just shook my head.
"I love it Mister, I just love it."

Here's a picture taken from the rocks at the end of Angelo's pier - this summer:

I'll take one of Angelo and his Convenience Store, next time I visit and upload.

I've come to discover every little encounter - if you have a bit of time - will turn into one of Angelo's well crafted, participatory, brief teaching encounters. It can start anywhere, a chance comment - or observation - or a question of any kind - which leads to something that's just happened - which in turn leads to a lesson that's anything BUT improvised - a teaching that's delivered with conviction and a great sense of timing. I've heard some good ones over the last month or so... on the importance of Give and Take, on WHY he does what he does, on his motto of Clean and Fresh! On doing everything you can, and then leaving it completely to (then Angelo points upward). Angelo's ongoing message is gratitude to his customer - in everything he does - he expresses his gratitude. 

Now there's something that I feel is important here - its not just that Angelo loves his work, but under this calling I believe lurks a CAUSE (how can it be otherwise really?).

I discovered it one day when I asked Angelo why he worked so hard (he opens at 7 am and there he is giving us free hot dogs at 9 pm) - of course I got the ususal, "Because I love it, Mister."
"But truthfully," I said, "you don't need to work so hard do you? There's a few more days in the winter that you didn't need to open the store or fire up the BBQ - you don't need that extra money - do you?"
"No, Mister, no. I don't need the money."
Then Angelo seemed momentarily lost for words.
Maybe I should have remained quite, but I added in a whisper, "What about the people, Angelo."
"They seem so stressed," Angelo replied right away.
"When they arrive here they're not so happy but when they leave here they are happier and more relaxed."
"And kinder to each other." I added - from my own experience.
"That's it Mister, you got it. Its exactly that, they're kinder to each other."

So somewhere there is a CAUSE definitely lurking.

But as a storyteller I won't be lulled into thinking that all its all so lovely, actually, what a storyteller knows is that hidden under the surface of everything remotely associated with being human is... CONFLICT!

And, if and when we eliminate all the external conflicts (like those so focused on - in the Action genre). Then all the internal conflicts, starting with boredom, unleash themselves upon us - leading to an existential crisis (which tosses us to the other extreme - the Soap Opera genre).

Not long ago Angelo asked me to sign a petition - to stop a neighboring grocery store from setting up a competing hot dog stand on the side of the road across from him.
Finally here's some conflict in paradise!

Last week Angelo thanked me for helping his successful petition - as though I was the sole reason for his success. Then he pauses in emotion and then relates how he kept quiet during the hearing of the petition and let his son speak before the court, who Angelo states, was so much better spoken, even than the other lawyer. Angelo was just bursting with pride (and he even managed to slip in another life's lesson - for good measure).

So where's the conflict here?

Isn't there simply conflict from being alive. At a basic level many things die so that we may live. And the reality of our own mortality, we're generally in conflict with that. Then loving our neighbor as ourselves - that's a pretty tall order, given my neighbors. Not to even mention the other commandments. NOW we've got the entire eco-system that we as humans seem to have run into conflict with. Conflict with the very life support systems of the planet. Not to mention government condoned torture - should we not be in "conflict" with this. To be aligned with a cause, to overcome our own demon's and addictions - is this not to be in "conflict" with something. Do cause and conflict go together?

Sometimes in the story the Conflict is only alluded to - even though the Cause is pretty clear:

What do you think of Nike's ad - Find Your Greatness - is it exploiting obesity? Or is it challenging the status quo? Is it alluding a truth that is often hidden - or is it manipulating us?

Next blog I will reflect some more on conflict and the storytellers craft. Not sure where it will lead - but that's the beauty of the blog. Part diary, part exploration, part story, part Shared Adventure...