The Trade Winds

A trade. An art. A profession. Yet, nowadays, even a master craftsman is referred to as nothing more than an employee. Why is this the truth?

I am curious of why people who are skilled in thier arts and trades are not revered. For if I spend my entire life engrossed within my work, I certainly expect more than a paycheck to come from it. If my labors have been felt throughout my body for many years; sweat, blood, joy, and pain would come of it. The joy would be overpowering. The pain, unbearable. The investment would go beyond the life it allows me to live, and so it will become the life I do live.

Today, in the world market, a man, a business, or a company is measured by its profits. Gone are the days of quality assurance, labors of love in the marketplace, and the satisfaction brought to those who have worked many hours to craft goods. Rather, the things we buy and use are thrown together by robots, part of a massive dance aimed at economical progress, and leading to a deprecciated individual.

When we are growing as young children, we look to the adults around us as our models. Thier labors and trades become the skills and ideas we develop in order to make our own careers. What, then, is the fate of those who are raised in poverty, victim to a childhood of minimum wage witness, and who never see anything beyond a dad who works at McDonalds? Will they be rewarded from thier labors if they follow in fathers footsteps? Most certainly not. But, what's a father to do besides provide food and shelter for his family? And isn't it natural for a man's son to follow him in his trade? I say it's pivotal to a life of happiness.

Walk into most storefronts and you see one of two things. A distressed employee, weary from his long hours of work, and his face filled with shame for lack of artisanship in his veins. Or you see the smiling employee, full of optimism, knowing that her days here cant go on forever, and she is deeply awaiting the moment that she may fulfill a purpose in her career. The day that either of these individuals reach thier goal, in todays world, seems like it will not come to many people upon this earth. Not without the help of our Father in Heaven.

What do you think? Do you think there is still true reverance for those who are practicing the trades? Is a carpenter revered as much as a shrewd business man? Maybe you think that everyone falls into some niche, and are brought there to be fulfiled in some way? I have many questions as to why our careeers are empty, hollow, and sorrowful to us. I would absolutely love to hear your perspective on this issue.

Please, comment and let's discuss.