In the recent past, the term “women’s work” has come to have a derogatory
connotation. Women’s work encompasses all the domestic chores that have
historically been associated only with women: cooking, cleaning, and raising
children. Whenever a person is limited to only certain kinds of work in a
society, there is a need to break free from that work in order to inhabit a
place of choice. However, when we choose to do women’s work because we enjoy
it, there is nothing degrading about it. There is an honor to it, and when
done alone or in a group, this work can be truly meaningful and fulfilling
because the home is the foundation of security for all who live in it. The
importance of tending the hearth that nurtures all who bask in its warmth
cannot be overstated.
In addition to being essential to the functioning of the world, women’s work
offers creative fulfillment, intimate interaction, and personal satisfaction.
The more we become aware of the significance of this realm of labor, the more
fulfilling it will be both to those who do the work and those who benefit
from it. A well-set table and a delicious, healthy meal can heal us on
multiple levels. Clean, crisp sheets on a bed allow us to enter a deep
slumber, inspiring a sense of safety and trust. Our mental, physical,
emotional, and spiritual health all rest upon the smooth functioning of our
homes.
The more we acknowledge the tremendous importance of this work, the more we
are able to do it with a sense of pride, never feeling for a moment that our
efforts are less significant or meaningful than those working outside the
home. On the contrary, it is this work that makes all other work possible.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment