By Howard Coop
“It ain’t over till it’s over,” said Yoga Berra, a well-known baseball manager. But unofficially, it is over. While summer doesn’t actually end until Sept. 22, it practically ends for most folks on Labor Day, a holiday that gives them one last day away from work to enjoy a day of outside activity before the shorter, cooler and more pleasant days of autumn officially begin.
But Labor Day is more than a holiday of leisure to mark the unofficial end of summer. Since 1894, it has been a national holiday that provides every citizen with an opportunity to take time to appreciate and think seriously about the importance of honest labor that is beneficial to human society.
Since the dawn of recorded history, it has been an accepted fact that an able-bodied individual capable of working must earn a living “by the sweat of the brow.” Another old proverb puts it, “This is your lot in life… Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all you might.” And still another proverbial statement says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart.”
But honest and beneficial labor does more than enable the workman to earn a living; it provides a necessary service to others. Beyond receiving a paycheck, a teacher molds the mind of the student, a physician helps to heal those who are ill, and a janitor working at a menial task provides a sanitary environment. Any worker doing anything beneficial is engaged in an honorable profession and deserves recognition for the contribution made.
Beneficial labor can be satisfying. Whatever it is or however menial it may be, work is honorable and one can find pleasure in it. Linda Evans Parlette said it well, “To work at the things you love, or for those your love, is to turn work into play and duty into privilege.”
Enjoy Labor Day! But take time to remember those who’s labor to make life better for you and be grateful.