Gratitude for Innumerable Labors
“When eating fruit, remember the one who planted the tree” is a Vietnamese proverb that feels especially relevant to share on Labor Day. Taking time to think about the innumerable efforts that go into creating the ordinary items in our lives that are so easy to take for granted—soap, fabric, eyeglasses, shoes, mugs, eggs, apples, and countless others—wakes us up to how interconnected we all are, and how many unknown people in the world deserve our appreciation. As Brené Brown said so eloquently, “What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.”
In the United States, Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894, although the first Labor Day parade occurred on September 5, 1882, when 10,000 workers took unpaid time off and marched from City Hall to Union Square in Manhattan demanding better working conditions. This was during the height of the industrial revolution, when the average American worker earned a meager wage despite working six 12-hour days per week, often without breaks. People of all ages, especially recent immigrants and the poor, routinely endured unsafe working conditions and insufficient access to fresh air and sanitary facilities. Children as young as five regularly toiled in mills, factories, and mines across the country, where they were paid a fraction of what adults earned.
First Labor Day Parade in the US, held in NYC, Sept. 5, 1882
Child labor wasn’t officially outlawed nationwide until 1938, when the Fair Labor Standards Act established child labor standards as well as a minimum wage and overtime pay for all workers. The growth of labor unions played a huge role in empowering workers and establishing more humane regulations.
Thinking back on these times that weren’t so long ago (my parents were both born in the 1920s) reminds me of the importance of working to achieve change that may never be fully realized in our lifetimes. We need to always be planting the trees that will bear fruit for the generations that come after us.
These days, Labor Day has become synonymous with celebrating the final weekend of of summer. Here at Quest for Eternal Sunshine, as we’ve been savoring the last days of summer, we’ve been planning some wonderful free autumn events. We’re excited about our great lineup:
Harvest the Healing Energies of Autumn—a nature-based guided meditation led by Hilary Nicholls on Tuesday, September 21, at 5PM Pacific.
Beyond this Realm—an afterlife avent with renowned medium Tina Powers on Saturday, October 9, at 10:00AM Pacific
Unraveling the Mother Knot with Words and Stories—a writing workshop and discussion with bestselling author Laura Davis on Saturday, November 6, at 10:00 AM Pacific
All of our Quest for Eternal Sunshine events are free, and dedicated to supporting people’s individual quests for wisdom, healing and self-discovery. We hope you will join us, but if you sign up and can’t attend the live event, you will receive a recording.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful Labor Day weekend, full of fun, love and gratitude!
Myra
