It is by meeting the needs of others that social workers find their meaning in life. I mean this generally of course, not being in a position to speak for all social workers. We are on to something though. People believe that a lasting satisfaction of their own needs is a worthwhile venture, but they never stop to analyze what is entailed by those needs. There is a regression when needs are explored, it usually ends with love and a desire for acceptance.
Chasing after money, seeking fame, power and gain all in an attempt to ensure that others will heed our call is not the same as finding true acceptance. This is a kind of pseudo love and acceptance, it isn’t really what we want when we finish the analysis tree. Pseudo love is what can be gained when a person is unwilling to expose their fears and genuine self to others. It’s a way of hedging bets, trying to gain without the risk of giving.
Love is an interdependent phenomena, it can only exists when there is mutual giving. When there is not, love just becomes a material good, commoditized like so much of this world. There must be a letting go with love; a fearlessness rarely seen.
It’s hard to blame people for their fear; we live in a world were letting go is not valued. Control is standard by which we measure success. Materialism is almost the antilove. Any person who would truly love, and lets go of their need for obsessive control, is labeled eccentric. There are so few people we can actually let go with, and it is difficult to find a standard to identify those souls.
This leads me to my long-winded point. Social Workers are definitely a group of people who value letting go and search for compassion at every turn. Maybe not all of us, maybe not on all days, but we display an identifiable standard that draws people who are in need of letting go. At the heart of social work is compassion and I am very proud to be a part of this field and colleagues with so many wonderful people.
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Wow Matthew-good article!
As one who has worked in the field for 15 1/2 years I can say it goes way beyond wants and materialism.
I work with ‘older adults’ and many live in the lower socio-economic bracket. Even if they have a bit more they fall into the lower middle-class and well considering how much we pay in taxes here in Canada (close to 15% on everything, plus what we pay on income tax- which is quite high) and yes there are benefits like socialized medicine, low cost for higher education and many programs one can access through both provincial and federal levels of government…life can be challenging.
As one who is in the helping profession-I enjoy my work and anytime I feel ‘down’ or ‘discouraged’ I re-evaluate my lifestyle, my choices, my passion for my work and low and behold-my life moves back into balance.
Blogging has given me this wonderful opportunity to share with others issues that are important to me and important to my clients. It’s also a way to educate the general public and share with fellow helping professionals.
Matthew
Thank you for your essay. I find my career as a social worker to be a calling for me. It is far beyond monetary, almost a spiritual practice of trying to add to the world and not be a taker. There is nothing more satisfying than making connections with people, helping them find the power and resources within themselves and world around them to achieve and grow.
LM
I could not agree more and thanks for your kind words, it’s and older piece, but we are kind of in rerun mode due to the storm