One of the lesser known monuments in this city is a beautiful small garden off of Massachusetts Avenue dedicated to the Lebanese-American author and poet, Khail Gibran. I visited it today and was moved once again by Gibran’s reflections and incredible wisdom. One particular quote was carved in the stone of a bench and I was surprised to learn it belonged to him. For many years I have understood it as folk wisdom, and it is something that I have tried to remember and apply to my life. He said, “Work is love made visible.” That is an amazing thought. What we do with our lives is how we make our love visible to the world. What work we choose, what work we do, and how we do it is how our love is made visible to others, and to the world.
So, how do we do our work? Do we do it with the love that shows others how full our hearts are? Or, do we do it just to be done with it and get on to something else more entertaining? “Work is love made visible.” That’s any work we do – our chosen profession – and the mundane tasks of everyday life. And, if our work is truly how our love is made visible, perhaps we would do well to think about that as we go about our work. It could be a graced moment.