What is the nature of human beings?

We are a confused lot.Most of us tend to identify our selfworth with the job or the work we do for a living.It is a crucial part of our identity but not the complete identity.It is the part most visible to the world outside and all the fanfare that goes along with it makes us feel good and important but it is only the tip of the iceberg. Like 90% of the iceberg is hidden underwater, the major part of our identity is hidden in the close relationships of our lives and in the spiritual nature of our being. Somehow, as we grow older we keep focusing on the visible tip while giving stepmotherly treatment to the invisible part of our nature and identity.The part which is embedded in different relationships drifts along on automatic pilot,instead of us taking a conscious decision to examine its health and nurture it.The deepest and the most significant part, that of a spiritual entity, is either blatantly ignored or lost in following mindless religious practices and dogmas.We do everything to nourish the body, mind and heart by following a healthy lifestyle, expanding our knowledge and skills base and building an efficient network of relationships but what do we do to nourish the spirit? We can have the best job,financial abundance and a broad fabric of relationships but the absence of basic principles and ethics which feed the soul will leave us like a ship without an anchor.

What you should look for in your work?

The work we do is an extension of our self so it is imperative that we choose it carefully.The relationship that we share with our work or the service we render is as significant,complicated and intense as with our personal relationship with our human life partner.Essentially the things that we look for in both are the same-- character and personality.In the competitive and morally deprived times of today we get seduced by the personality ethics of the job like power & influence, glamour & charm, public image and social recognition/ acceptance. However,these traits only feed our ego and bring only temporary success.For our relationship with our work to be long lasting and satisfying at a deeper level the nature of the "service we render" and the people we collaborate to do it with should help us integrate character ethics like integrity, honesty, fairness,high self esteem, nobleness,generosity, giving back to society etc. into our lives as much as possible.As parents, educators,counsellors,administrators and managers we need to realise that character ethics form the basis of our work.It is what builds us up as individuals and gives meaning and purpose to our work life.Ideally it would be great if we could have a healthy combination of both personality and character ethics in our work but if not possible then character wins hands down.