What is really important? What touches us today – and will not go away tomorrow? It’s the things that have moved us since human existence: happiness, love, family, partnership, time, stress, loneliness, farewell, grief.
BILD columnist Louis Hagen, coming from a German-Jewish family, sought answers to the eternal questions of mankind from poets, thinkers and researchers. And found a few answers that are amazingly simple – and yet can enrich our lives.
★★★
If you ask colleagues at the beginning of the week: “How are you?”, you usually get the answer: “How’s it supposed to go on Monday morning!”
A global survey has now confirmed this: the depression curve is highest when you start work on Monday mornings.
The weekend sprayed it, the sweet poison of freedom. My colleague Sabine: “I would have liked to have sauntered through the garden for a day longer and insulted the supposed weeds!” Small vacations, don’t even think about the job. Sounds obvious – and yet it is just a truth.
▶︎ In my experience, most people like to work. We complain about whatever: stress, too little recognition, too little pay. But without? Can’t do it, nobody wants it. How beautiful these sentences: I created this with the work of my hands; i’m proud of what i do.
Somehow almost every job has its secret and deserves our admiration: the roofer on a blazing summer day on the ladder, the precision worker on the assembly line at BMW or Audi, the garbage men who clear us of the rubbish. teachers teach our children and grandchildren; Journalists report what’s going on in the world – and who is telling the truth or who is lying.
BILD columnist Louis Hagen
Where would we be without work? Being able to work is happiness. It’s nice to be able to work. Not finding work is tragic.
I myself have been a journalist for 50 years. I dragged nothing, built nothing, did no physical toil. And I’m still proud. And I am happy about every reaction from you, dear readers. Sometimes I’m also insulted – that’s just part of it.
I think most people who have a job that is also a bit of a calling can be proud of themselves.
What you do with passion and dedication, with renunciation and sometimes with pain can’t be so wrong.
Louis Hagen (75) was a member of the BILD editor-in-chief for 13 years and is now a consultant at the communications agency WMP. His texts are available as a book at koehler-mittler-shop.de.