Sabian Symbols: A man handling baggage

A man handling baggage

This universal idea is best expressed through planets in

13th degree of Taurus (12°- 13°)

MATERIAL ACQUISITION
​The inevitable pull of materiality that leads us to seek possessions and the improvement of our circumstances

Involvement with society's availability of material abundance inevitably attracts heavy responsibility and the habit of gain and acquisitiveness. These are the qualities of the material world and they make demands upon us.

Rudhyar:
A PORTER CARRYING HEAVY BAGGAGE

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​A porter carrying heavy baggage

Industry

​A man handling baggage

That we serve is more important than whom we serve

Frequently, tasks appear that could become nothing more than drudgery if performed reluctantly without protest. The porter is in danger of losing all ambition and losing his sense of self-worth if he does not find a way to approach his work positively.

The key to life-satisfaction, whether in the context of work, relationships, home or social life, lies not in the externals but in the way we internalise experiences. Generally speaking, no matter in what circumstances, a joyful person will experience joy, a miserable one, misery.

In this example, when facing potentially soul-destroying conditions, we need to look differently at the matter in hand – either at the detail or at the wider picture. We could challenge ourselves to become absolutely perfect at the task in hand – placing each bag ‘exactly so’ and delighting in their colours and shapes. Or we could discipline ourselves constantly to serve the spirit of industry itself and become a conscious supporter of Work as a spiritual principle.

Serve in some appropriate capacity

A person needs to be useful, the integrity of the community requires this – and in fact affirms that, on some level, all functions have equal importance. For example, when garbage handlers go on strike, the health of the city is jeopardised.

It matters less what we do, than that we serve in some appropriate capacity. It is vitality itself that we seek to express, which is not at all dependent upon the specificity of the activity itself.
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A happy life requires that we learn to adjust ourselves to circumstances. When we do this properly, as a spiritual practice, then we find that what we actually have is the better option compared with what we thought we wanted.

We come to learn through this that we have greater strength and wider, deeper resources than we could ever have imagined. It is not the case that getting what we want leads to happiness; contentment actually comes from learning to want what we get.

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