Getting Physical

On inescapable occasions, I indulge in physical labor.

Usually this comes in the form of efforts that may be described as quasi-gardening; the sort of work that in some places is accomplished with a machete and a torch. Having done a fair amount of physical work when I was younger - my father could not tolerate the sight of an seated child - I don't cherish pleasant memories of sweat and sun. I will note, however, that physical labor has a clear advantage over desk time: In most cases, you can see what you've accomplished and it is usually a distinct improvement over what existed earlier.

You don't always know that with non-physical work. Although most of us do not resemble those sad attorneys who toil on a case for years only to see it gurgle down the drain due to a judge or a jury, we do know the odd feeling that comes with inconclusive projects; the vague ones where the real outcome is hidden behind the curtain of time or the neutral expression of a client. Our pleasure must then be taken not in the observation of a tangible change but in the knowledge that we have performed our work as well as possible. Virtue may indeed be its own reward and at times the same may be said of work.