An Excerpt: On Finding Meaning

The Italian psychiatrist Roberto Assagioli tells a parable about 3 stone cutters building a cathedral in the Middle Ages. You approach the first man and ask him what he's doing. Angrily he turns to you and says, “Idiot! Use your eyes! They bring me a rock, I cut it into a block, they take it away, and they bring me another rock. I've been doing this since I was old enough to work, and I'm going to be doing it until the day that I die.” Quickly you withdraw, go to the next man, and ask him the same question. He smiles at you warmly and tells you, “I'm earning a living for my beloved family. With my wages I have built a home, there is food on our table, the children are growing strong.” Moving on, you approach the third man with this same question. Pausing, he gives you a look of deep fulfillment and tells you, “I am building a great cathedral, a holy lighthouse where people lost in the dark can find their strength and remember their way. And it will stand for a thousand years!” Each of these men is doing the identical task. Finding a personal meaning in your work opens even the most routine of tasks to the dimension of satisfaction and even joy. We may need to recognize meaning for the resource it is and find ways to pursue it and preserve it.

Remen RN. Recapturing the soul of medicine: physicians need to reclaim meaning in their working lives. West J Med. 2001 Jan;174(1):4-5. doi: 10.1136/ewjm.174.1.4. PMID: 11154646; PMCID: PMC1071213.