Do We Work to Live or Live to Work?

 

Good morning and happy weekend! With the thermometer already reading 29°C early this morning here in Serres, it is official, summer is here, and it is scorching. The most interesting feature of today isn't just the bright sunshine, but the fact that the real feel temperature is expected to hit a staggering 40°C later this afternoon! We will be spending the whole day cuddled up with the air conditioner. A very comforting hug.

We would like to share a scene we witnessed from our balcony, as strange as that may sound. Right next to our home there is a supermarket. It is a local chain. We also have the large Greek supermarket chains, but this one is different.

The difference you would notice if you came here to buy your vegetables or ingredients for cooking is that it certainly doesn't have the variety of the larger supermarkets. However, it has a butcher's counter, deli meats, cheeses, and almost everything you need.

It also has something you don't often find in larger chains, and I think this can be seen from two different perspectives. It doesn't have the same formality or the strict working environment. The kind where someone asks, "D'ya need a bag love?" (that's exactly how they asked me in Tesco and Morrisons in England, and also in many large supermarkets in Greece) without even looking at your face.

Here, they will ask your name. They will learn what you do for a living. You will joke with them, talk freely as if you have known each other for years, and we as customers feel the same way as though they are people we already know. We know things about them, and they know things about us, at least the things we choose to share. You'll often see them stepping outside for a break if the shop isn't too busy, having a cigarette, drinking a coffee, and chatting with customers outside the entrance.

Yesterday, one of these ladies stepped out of the supermarket during her shift holding three small candles in her hands and walked across to the church opposite to light them.

I don't know why it affected me so much. It felt so deeply human. Even though working life can be demanding, even in this supermarket she had the freedom to do something that felt spiritually important to her. At the same time, it made me think that whenever you see someone at work looking stressed, serious, or exhausted, behind that person there is an entire novel of struggles and joys.

And so, from my balcony, a simple scene like that made me think, or perhaps more accurately, feel, and come a little closer to people. I also wish every workplace could be like this, where people have time to do human things instead of robotic ones. 

Work should exist to support our humanity, not destroy it.

Mary is often fascinated by the English expression, "What do you do for a living?" rather than simply asking, "What is your job?" or "What is your profession?" as we usually do in Greece.

Do you believe the role of work should encourage more human connection?

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If you read all the way to the end, thank you. We would genuinely love to hear your thoughts, memories, or feelings in the comments. And if you ever feel like writing to us more personally, you can always send us a letter at:

✉️ unplug.thrive@gmail.com

— Mary & Chris