The fourth of the reiki precepts has several translations. Some of these include:
- Be honest in your work
- Work diligently
- Do your duty
- Work with honesty
This particular principle reminds me of four things. The first of these is to be honest in my interactions with people every day. Things like not ripping off the cashier at the grocery store, offering value in the skills and services that I provide, and being up front about all transactions whether they’re monetary, emotional, relational, or other. Then I can go to bed with a clear conscience and my body gets the healthy rest that it requires.
The second thing that comes to mind from Be honest in your work is to be a valuable contributor to my community and society. This is to share my abilities for the best good of all of us, human and more-than-human. It’s to take responsibility for my piece of the web of life.
The third idea that comes out of this principle for me is to work on myself as honestly and diligently as I can today. If I have 15 minutes for meditation, do 15 minutes then get on with life rather than berating myself for not sitting for 30 minutes. If I’m able to spend half of the morning journalling deeply, and I feel so inclined, then I’ll do so. In other words, our personal maturation/growth process is part of our work and we do what we’re able to do. No more, no less.
The final point that Be honest in your work inspires is to do what I came here to do. There’s a core image or quality that is in me. It’s my sacred duty to myself and Life to live that core image/quality to the fullest. It’s my duty and delight to express my soul purpose and to offer it in service to the world. To do otherwise would be a compromise. I often say that there’s no healthy alternative to being oneself, and I feel that the fourth precept reminds us of that.
When YOU feel your way into this precept, what comes to mind for you? How are you honest in your work? What grows out of that?
I work in the groves of academe and I love my job. It is good work that benefits people’s minds and encourages people to pursue their passions. I don’t have the rock star job of classroom faculty, I am part of the hated infrastructure, an administrator. I make hard decisions about money, services, and people. Sometimes I get to do wonderful things and sometimes what I end up doing breaks my heart and makes people angry.
I’ve often been criticized as an evil being because of these decisions, good and bad, as the opinions on what is needed are very different.
As I think of “be honest in your work,” I think deeply on the responsibilities I have and the core mission of my work. Then the pathway is clear but not easy. It does affect people’s lives and their jobs. When my institution does its job well, wonderful, talented people deliver services that teach and coach more young talent to go out into the world and do good things.
I think I can stand before my gods and be proud of what I have done in my work life. But it’s one of those bittersweet things where you know you others have interpreted your actions through a different lens.