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Work: Job or Craft?
By Melissa Miller
The word ‘craft’ is generally associated with something made with the hands – needlepoint, pottery, knitting, quilting, decoupage, jewelry making; and often brings the owner great satisfaction and sometimes monetary reward. Another use of the word applies to the art of doing a job, and is comprised of two aspects: the essence of the job, that which that makes it worthwhile to the worker, and the attitude the worker brings to the work he or she does. The beauty of this concept is that a position I see as 'craft' another person might see as 'just a job' - but that person may have a different job that is 'craft' for him or her. In my life I’ve had several positions, but two stand out as being, for me, positions that involve the second use of the word, ‘craft.’ They show how I think about the work itself, and reflect some essence of the work that was meaningful to me. The first example is my first 'adult job' as a Montessori nursery school teacher. I didn’t work in this position for very long, but I learned much about myself in the training and then while working with pre-school age children. The Montessori Method involves providing an organized classroom filled with miniature-sized but real items for learning, ranging from dishwashing and other basic-skill tasks, to materials for learning to count, read, socialize, help others, and generally gain inner discipline. Everything that applies to the child also applies to the adult in the classroom, and I gained much in terms of joy, respect for others’ learning styles, organization, mentoring, getting out of the way of the learner, trust, and inner discipline. I was able to fully embody the things I learned because I was fully engaged in meaningful work tied closely to the end result – the success of seeing a child approach a task with joy and accomplish it with authentic pride. Those things are, for me, part of the essence of ‘craft.’ The second example involves the field I have worked in for the past 15 years. It resembles being a Montessori teacher in ways I hadn’t recognized until recently. My work as a psychotherapist in a not-for-profit counseling center fulfills the hopes I had for myself as a Montessori teacher. I had several jobs in the approximately 30 years between these two positions, but none of those were as fulfilling for me, none provided the closeness of work to result as being a psychotherapist. I’m blessed to work as a pastoral counselor in an agency that values the way a client makes meaning out of life, as fits my own preference. I’ve worked for two such agencies in 15 years, and feel privileged to be able to stand by my clients as they learn to choose life-enhancing goals, come to grips with trauma, sorrow, anger, depression, and anxiety, among other issues. I’ve accompanied them into the dark places of dementia as it descended, helped them cope with terminal diagnoses, and sat their bedsides not long before they died. I’ve watched angry teens grow into confident, married adults with families and meaningful work. I’ve watched my clients mentor others, giving back to their communities what they embodied during our time together. I take some credit for this – I'm well trained and I work hard to be the best therapist I can be. But often, what is involved is what was involved with the Montessori children – and I say that with the greatest respect to both the children and my adult clients. At first I provide the framework the client needs, and then step back a bit to let them move around in it, learning what they can and need to learn with some guidance. When they’re ready for a bigger, more complex and challenging framework, I help them create it. As their inner confidence and self discipline grow, they need me less and their ability to guide their lives has been restored or in some cases, allowed to flourish for perhaps the first time in their lives. We both feel the satisfaction of tasks authentically completed and new skills put to use. I am blessed to have had two such careers in my life, and to be able to understand the first as the advance preparation for the second. My life has had many detours in between these careers, yet my inner feeling is that one drew me inexorably, if slowly, to the other. They fulfill my use of the word, ‘craft;’ they have helped me have a life of meaning, joy in learning, joy in giving back, and also, the satisfaction of helping others find the craft in the work they do.
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Contributor's Note
I hope you who read this article will gain a new way of looking at work and making choices about it, or will feel confirmed in the choices you’ve already made, when looked at from this perspective.
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