Over lunch last month, my friend Martin Rutte encouraged me to enter a global video contest promoting spirituality in the workplace. (Martin is chairman of the board of the sponsor of the contest, The Centre for Spirituality and the Workplace out of Saint Mary's University in Canada.) At first, I was resistant to the idea. I said, "So much has been written about spirit in the workplace. What can I say that would add to the conversation?"
On the spot, Martin interviewed me to help me discover what unique message I might have to share. Within a minute or two, I said, "I don't work anymore. I play!" With that statement on the table, I knew I had something I felt was valuable to share on spirit at work.
With my inspirational juices flowing, I went home and produced my entry into the contest, "Stop Working and Start Playing:"
The central insight in the video of bringing spirit into the workplace is very much a question of attitude. If we are willing to bring all of ourselves into work, meaning not censoring our spirit and passion for life, we can bring spirit into the workplace in a concrete, powerful, and inspiring way.
If you like my video and its message, I would love your support in the contest. You can do it by clicking the Like icon on the upper right side of my video (it is a small white heart). For your Like to count, first you need to sign up with vimeo. It is simple and painless to do it, and vimeo will not bother you with a barrage of email. Once you sign up, return to my video and click the white heart. You can check to see if you succeeded by scrolling down a bit to look for your name at the top of the list of Likes.
In part two of this series, I will go back to a time in my life when work was not play for me. I will share some things I learned about making the transition from seeing work as drudgery into something much more fulfilling and empowering.
I'd love to hear how you bring spirit into the workplace, or what challenges or obstacles you face in bringing your spirit into work.
Thanks for playing!
For more by Levi Ben-Shmuel, click here.
For more on mindfulness, click here.