Discuss the parable about bricklayers \ stacker news ~BooksAndArticles

3571 sats \ 23 comments \ @cryotosensei 20 Feb BooksAndArticles

zaps forwarded to @siggy47 (25%)

Have you ever heard of the parable about bricklayers. The parable comes from Christopher Wren rebuilding St. Paul’s cathedral. He came to the site one day and saw three bricklayers. He asked them what they were doing and all three gave very different responses. The first said, “I’m laying bricks.” The second said, “I’m building a wall.” The third said, “I’m building a cathedral.”

The quote above ☝️ was extracted from Brian Anderson’s LinkedIn post (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/you-laying-bricks-building-cathedrals-brian-anderson).

This quote is a follow-up response to my question about V4V (#430892). Given that work is often framed as “fiat mining” in order to derive “wife-changing money”, I wasn’t expecting Stackers to discuss their unique selling point in the context of their jobs. But more than one Stacker wrote about the passion and purpose they hold for their work, which is quite inspiring to read actually. The personal pride they take in their work and professional conviction make me realise that not everyone hates their jobs. What I have been exposed to in the crypto space is a skewed perception of the nature of work.

Or is it? Thus, I want to ask which category of bricklayer you belong to. If you are building a cathedral, what process did you take to arrive at this desired destination? If you are laying bricks or building a wall, does it bother you that you are not working towards something that is greater than yourself?

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450 sats \ 3 replies \ @erict875 20 Feb

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.

119 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 20 Feb

I share those exact sentiments.

124 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 20 Feb

I think after a while, work everywhere turns out to be more or less the same. It boils down to whether you like the people you are working with

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 20 Feb

Wow this is a brand new perspective to parenting. This will surely motivate me as I chase after my boy to internalise good habits (instead of clearing up after him). Haha

What are the non-negotiable values you hope to instil in your child?

233 sats \ 2 replies \ @koqoo 20 Feb

"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

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @ablunderfilledlife 20 Feb

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 21 Feb

Thanks for sharing this with me! Have not heard of this quote until today haha

212 sats \ 1 reply \ @brandonsbytes 20 Feb

Given that work is often framed as “fiat mining” in order to derive “wife-changing money”,

wife-changing money?! Uh oh, now she isn’t gunna let me keep staking sats!

I’ve always had a sense of everything, no matter how small, is a part of something bigger and I’m always where I should be, even while I’m working to move past where I am. I think I’ve been laying bricks through my twenties, and now that I’m almost mid-thirties, I’m starting to build walls in the sense of really defining myself and what my and my family’s life is gunna be and not be.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 21 Feb

I enjoyed reading this. You remind me of how there is a time and place for everything. You move and grow in accordance with life’s seasons. In fact, the thing I like to ask my younger colleagues is “why the rush?”

130 sats \ 1 reply \ @ablunderfilledlife 20 Feb

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.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 20 Feb

This is such an interesting take. Be like water. 💦 Go with the flow haha

318 sats \ 1 reply \ @026180d3a3 20 Feb

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

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 21 Feb

There are definitely many days where I feel like that and just want to get through the daily grind haha

168 sats \ 1 reply \ @gnilma 20 Feb

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.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 21 Feb

Thanks mate. As the second bricklayer who sees my work as an occupation and not necessarily a calling, I already feel secure in the kind of service I provide my school and students. But reading how you see each POV as legitimate in its own right made me feel that my POV is more justifiable haha

168 sats \ 2 replies \ @KLT 20 Feb

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.

30 sats \ 1 reply \ @cryotosensei OP 21 Feb

“A positive impact on humanity”

Such a lofty ideal. This KL Sensei needs to step up

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @KLT 21 Feb

We have such a positive feedback loop of great conversation here, no doubt that we’ll inspire each other and continue to give each other great things to think about.

109 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 20 Feb

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

124 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 20 Feb

You can start by fixing my wallet 🤠

263 sats \ 1 reply \ @herschel 24 Feb

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.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 25 Feb

So cool what the old gurus said. It’s like the modern day mantra of putting in 10,000 hours in order to adeptly master a discipline. Except that laying bricks a million times focuses on building something of substance n value.

Bookmarked your book recommendation!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 fwd 20 Feb

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