Labour Prima Virtus

I deteste laziness. Especially when little reason exists to avoid a little extra effort. On a routine trip to drop garbage down the chute in the garbage room on my floor I found a bag in the corner. Not a garbage bag; that’d be too good. Instead a bag of recyclables. See, only garbage chutes are on each floor; recycling is consolidated in one room on the first floor for ease of removal for the trucks. We go through tubs upon tubs of recycling each day. That’s a good thing right? 

How difficult can it be to hop in the elevator down to one, turn the corner and drop the bag. Just leave it by your door until heading out the next morning?!?! Instead the easy way out for the tenant was to drop it in the garbage room and hope someone took care of it. Which, of course, I did. I’ve rarely been a witness to so much laziness so often in so many circumstances. This was about the fifth or sixth time I’ve taken care of this in only a few months. I’d suspect the building cleaning staff run into it daily.

I’ve heard a few cultural comments since I’ve been here—-and been witness to a few myself. I’m not sure this is the place for that—naturally since I have no proof it’d really be tossing an unfounded dagger. Suffice it to say this must be close to the most lazy one can be. Where has pride in self, pride in property, pride in others’ property gone? Why don’t we complete tasks, chores, work, etc…simply for the satisfaction of a job well done? Out of a sense of responsibility or basic decency? 

When I was a kid my older brother and I helped our dad clean our church buildings. Main building, classrooms, grounds, mow, scoop. Year round. I remember pushing the 100 pound commercial grade Kirby vacuum up and down the aisles, gently wiping down the pews with Pledge and climbing way too high up ladders to pull down cobwebs. Getting up before dawn Winter Sundays to clear out the drive, the sidewalk and steps in sometimes brutal conditions. We earned a few shillings dad tossed our way; he didn’t earn much more. He did it out of both a sense of pride in keeping the buildings and grounds in good shape as well as for the supplemental income. After all, raising a family of seven was difficult in our income bracket and every little bit truly helped. Mostly we (my brother and I) did it out of respect for our dad and the church. Almost work for the sake of pride; Labour Prima Virtus, it was almost its own reward. Laziness; no place for it in my circle.