People should feel blessed when offered extra work. One semester, my boss left a message on my answering machine, asking if I’d be willing to finish teaching a course that had lost its instructor.
Before returning the call, I conjured up excuses: It’s the semester’s eleventh hour — I have no idea what’s been taught thus far; I have my own courses to finish up; I’ve never taught that course before; I can’t … no way.
I’m a poor decision-maker, so when facing difficult choices, I pray first, and then seek guidance from my long-departed mentor, Jaybird.
Whenever I used the word “can’t,” the old black man would answer with one of his favorite sayings: “They kilt ole Can’t and whupped old Couldn’t ’til he said he could.”
But this time, I remembered another of his sayings, another of his favorites because it so aptly described his attitude toward productivity. Sunup to sundown, he was the hardest working man I’ve ever known, and if asked how he faced even the most daunting tasks with equanimity, he was certain to say, “A steady grind will hew a mountain down.”
Jaybird drank heartily of the elixir called work, and spat out the nepenthe known as idleness. He didn’t know the meaning of philosophy, but his scorn for laziness coincides with the attitude toward idleness espoused by many great philosophers and thinkers.
He would certainly have agreed with Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, who said, “Nothing makes people feel nobler than work. Without work, a person cannot have human dignity. That is why idle people are so concerned about the superficial expression of their importance; they know that without this, other people would despise them.”
Or, the man regarded as the father of the modern essay, French philosopher Michel de Montaigne: “The most outstanding gifts can be destroyed by idleness.”
Or, one of the world’s most quoted aphorists, Englishman Charles Caleb Colton: “From its very inaction, idleness ultimately becomes the most active cause of evil. The Turks have a proverb which says that the devil tempts all other men, but that idle men tempt the devil.”
Or, Greek philosopher Plutarch: “Poverty is not dishonorable in itself, but only when it comes from idleness, intemperance, extravagance and folly.”
Or, French writer Voltaire: “Shun idleness. It is a rust that attaches itself to the most brilliant metals.”
Or, English Prime Minister Arthur Balfour: “The superstition that hours of work are a minus quantity in the happiness of life, and hours of idleness are plus ones, is a most ludicrous and pernicious doctrine. Its greatest support comes from our not putting forth real effort to make work as near pleasure as it can be.”
Or, American automobile manufacturer Henry Ford: “Nobody can think straight who doesn’t work. Idleness warps the mind.”
In a world craving results, people shouldn’t offer excuses. I called my boss and said, “Yes, sir, I’ll gladly accept the extra work.”
Besides, I couldn’t let Jaybird down. He’d want me to increase that steady grind.
Jimmy Reed is an Oxford, Mississippi resident, Ole Miss and Delta State University alumnus, Vietnam Era Army Veteran, former Mississippi Delta cotton farmer and ginner, author, and retired college teacher.
This story is a selection from Jimmy Reed’s latest book, entitled The Jaybird Tales.
Copies, including personalized autographs, can be reserved by notifying the author via email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).
