Not directly related to my job, but when it comes to parenting, I'm definitely building a cathedral. The thought came to my mind yesterday that it's not only my little one, but also my unborn grandchildren etc, that I'm parenting. Concerning my job, it's a wall, a big tall one. It suffices me that I like the people I work with, and of course, it pays the bills.

"In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun, and the job's a game." - Mary Fuck*ng Poppins

Considering my 9-to-5, which bricklayer I am most like depends on who asks me what I am doing.

Immediately I think about a coworker stopping by my door with that very question. In this scenario, I am the second bricklayer: "I am cleaning up last week's logs for a clean report.

If a friend of a friend asks me about my work, I am the first bricklayer, but the banality of my response is to imply that I would very much appreciate not talking more about it: "I train and oversee students, and I do a little data work."

If a friend asks, I am the third bricklayer: "I'm still there--working at an institution I don't trust to complete a mission I don't believe in." In a sense, I'm building prisons... for the innocent.

With that said, looking forward to reading about your cathedrals.

If anything, I'd be in the "placing a brick" category answer.

I don't see any of the 3 brick layers' point of view being inferior to another. The cathedral cannot exist without the wall and the wall cannot exist without the bricks. Sometimes people romanticize and prefer to see the cathedral, the whole, or "the greater good" as they call it; and they miss out on the importance of the brick, the part, or the individual. In reality, everything in this world is made of parts, and most things becomes completely different when only one small part is changed. You get helium, an ultra stable, non reactive gas by adding 1 proton and 1 neutron to hydrogen, an ultra non stable, highly reactive gas. Don't lose sight of the importance of the brick or the individual.

Check out Any Rand's Atlas Shrugged if you want to dive deeper into individualism. You can get a free copy of Atlas Shrugged from this site or by searching "Atlas Shrugged free" on any search engine.

Nice insight. I work in the movie industry and any project that we have, my goal is to always make something that’s not only worth peoples time and sats, but to make something that will have a positive impact on humanity and give people something to think about, while entertaining the hell out of them. I want to make things that decades from now, folks will say that was a classic so my answer to your question I believe is building a cathedral.

1st: "Just stacking sats" 2nd: "Having good conversations online" 3rd: "Fix the money, fix the world"

The parable of the bricklayers is lost on this society. I hope it's not too late, but this goes over the heads of most people. Even Brian Anderson, imo, doesn't have a full grasp, but at least he's thinking objectively; he thinks about the future, mentioning his kids, etc.

Objectivity is seen as a liability in today's employment market. There is still very much a "twice as good for half as much" mentality. These are the people who are laying bricks. Something for nothing, get some subsidies and special tax laws, "lose" your money, blame the workers you don't pay, then get a bailout. It's a paper economy. There is no net value.

I don't think I'm writing anything people don't know.

But as an actual bricklayer I love that parable. The old guys used to say, "Lay the same brick a million times and build your church." As if to say, "Everything you do is yours."

Another parable to drive the principle home is Duke Hwan and the Wheelright. A good one to look up and ponder.

Thanks again. Great post. Once again I need to zap a reply since I can't zap your post.