Finding the Courage to Work

I have taught at the same university for over 30 years. Sometimes I have dragged myself unwillingly into the building where I work. One day in the men's room I briefly hosted the thought of running away rather than teaching my next class. I was sure I would do my students a big favor by not showing up because I felt scared and empty. The thought was short-lived because I could not decide where to go. So I reluctantly trudged off to class. Children, and stories about children, have helped me overcome these fears, get my eyes off myself, and see my students clearly again. I once asked a six-year old, "What does 'brave' mean?"

He answered, "It's when you're scared to death, but you do it anyway." When we observe children and childlike adults carefully, we can see them playing with their fears. A woman who was afraid of heights wondered how she would paint her house. She looked at the scaffolding then thought about her childhood. She remembered when she was a child looking wistfully and apprehensively at a big jungle gym in a park, and then climbing it. Now 35 years old, she suddenly saw the scaffolding as a huge jungle gym. Armed with a new point of view that let her play with her fears, she climbed the scaffolding and began to paint.

Children have a second means of being brave when they are scared. A boy faced the same predicament as the house painter – a fear of heights – when he went up on the roof of a two-story home with his uncle to do some roof repair. The boy was doing fine until his uncle had to go down to get some tools. When he climbed back onto the roof and found his nephew crying, he asked him if he was afraid. His nephew responded, "No, but I sure got lonesome." Fear and "lonesomeness" often run on parallel tracks.

I have used both these methods to cope with the fear of falling on my face at work. When I drew the painful conclusion that pride contributed to my fear and emptiness, I playfully asked myself, "Why should you feel so special? You're not the only one here who has occasional feelings of inadequacy." The second method – relaxing and growing in the presence of stronger people – has also been useful. Two friends and I started a small group 25 years ago. The group still meets every other Friday at 6:45 a.m. for breakfast, listening, talking, and study. One man moved out-of-state and we have added two others during these years. The love of Jesus and our mutual friendship hold us together. We share our fears, joys, personal and family needs, and predicaments at work. We leave the group to enter our different workplaces with a more enthusiastic, sure step.

Paul Welter has recareered after a long tenure at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. He still teaches "Learning from Children" there and leads seminars. Paul's radio show airs especially for farmers and truckers on several midwest stations. He also consults with businesses and organizations in the area of work-weariness.

Paul's book, Learning from Children is available from FAW.