The Work of Life
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
2026:
What do I want to work on?
Work out?
Work towards?
Matter of fact, why do I ask myself these questions every year?
I guess I want to understand how to spend my energy so I can move in a direction aligned with my higher self.
Energy is precious. It’s a substance that cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred – that’s why they say energy is contagious.
I like your energy! I like hers too.
Energy is quantifiable: I have a lot of energy! I have no energy at all.
But what makes energy great and what makes work worthwhile?
“Well, you know, work… Monday morning. Half asleep. Who goes to work Monday morning with a grin?” (Pirsig 8). Honestly, I hope to.
If any physics professors are reading this please forgive me, as I intentionally conflate the colloquial and Newtonian definitions of the words work and energy in hopes of discovering a new lens to view life and the forces we interact with.
Work = Force* distance
That was such a force.
She’s a force to be reckoned with.
Don’t force it.
Force =mass * acceleration
Mass is matter.
What’s the matter?
Acceleration has both a magnitude and direction.
Work = mass* acceleration *distance
If the object does not move, then no work has been done, even if a force has been exerted ! ! !
I argue that existence itself is a force.
Now let me convey the following ways a life force can be applied.
Green: Positive work
E.g. Starting before you feel ready – momentum creates clarity, not the other way around.
Making work you want to be hired for.
Enforcing boundaries :)
Blue: Negative work
Saying yes to things that you actually don’t want to do D:
Replaying conversations you can’t change.
Acting out of spite, jealousy or fear.
Yellow: No work
I’m unmotivated and direction-less. My life force is low, i.e. misaligned. It feels like what I’m doing has no point but I have no energy to make a change.
A good grounding question to differentiate between positive and negative work is “Will this make the next step easier or harder?”
If easier → positive work
If harder → negative work
And you’ll generally feel lighter after some positive work, even though a force has been exerted. Follow that feeling.
But assume you find yourself in the yellow territory – without direction, without a next step.
The following exercise can be helpful in bringing direction to your life:
Define the x, y, and z axes that make up the Euclidean space of your desired life. Pillars you wish to ground yourself in.
x = mind
y = body
z = spirit
Find one verb that stimulates each of these and fill out the circle with nouns, proper nouns, and other verbs associated with each. Mine are design, dance, and collaboration. To realign or amplify* your life force, do one small task daily that falls under each of these spheres. Finding people who naturally share these axes with you helps dramatically. “Practicing with a Sangha is essential. Even if we have a deep appreciation for the practice, it can be difficult to continue without the support of friends.”(Thich Nhat Hanh, 1998)
After some time and effort, your life force is in positive motion. Take these axes to a venn diagram and find the overlaps. Work towards making these overlaps a lived reality.
dance ∩ collab=the dance floor of a party,dance class, friends who are DJs
collab ∩ design =this substack, my career, an app, set design for a friends film
design ∩ dance = choreography, creating garments that exaggerate movements
At the center of the venn diagram and (0,0,0) on the graph is your core star – your divine will and the divine will of the universe.
*General tip for increasing your life force on a matter: look to acceleration – decisiveness and travel are tried and true methods to speed things up.
All this to say, sometimes you’ll move your little box with a concentrated effort to a desired position only to find out that you actually don’t want to be there. I call this the disillusionment of a desired displacement. The beauty is that you can always change paths. Life is not a linear graph and you have infinite axes to choose from.
Wishing you all a light and bright new year.
V
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“[ghosts] contain no matter, and have no energy and therefore, according to the laws of science, do not exist except in people’s minds… the laws of science contain no matter and have no energy either and therefore do not exist except in people’s minds. It’s best to be completely scientific about the whole thing and refuse to believe in either ghosts or the laws of science. That way you’re safe. That doesn’t leave you very much to believe in, but that’s scientific too.” – Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values
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Once a mechanical engineer, now an art director and spiritual baddie, Val works across photo, video, music, and the body to explore and express her inner state of being.
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