Spiritual enlightenment? Isn’t it over there, by the photocopier?

(Author: Sam O | Article Views: 8 | Word Count: 535 | Published: Feb 15th 2008)

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a fear of which, he believed, can blight a person’s life. Happily, much the same can be said of a career in Admin (that it makes one more accepting of death, I mean; though, come to think of it, pretty much any part of that sentence applies). But a calm acceptance of the inevitable is not the only spiritual boon to be gained from Admin jobs. Not by a long way. Believe me, spiritual enlightenment is right there, in your office, just waiting for you. It might be lying in your in-tray. It might be nestled amongst the Viagra offers in your inbox. Or most likely it’s down the back of the filing cabinet. That’s where things usually are. Bloody wonky drawer.

What?

OK, so I’m blatantly lying. Admin isn’t the path to spiritual enlightenment. Of course it’s not. At least, not for everyone. If we take a look at the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, however…

Truth No. 1: Life is suffering.
Check. Embark on any one of the myriad secretarial jobs, PA jobs, or sundry other office support roles currently available and a deep and profound understanding of the First Truth is guaranteed to follow (I find it usually take no more than three months. Or fifty paper-jams. Whichever comes first). If you’re looking for the fast-track, though, make sure to take a customer-facing role. Absolute gits, the lot of them.

Truth No. 2: The origin of suffering is attachment.
In an office job, attachment to sunlight, freedom, fresh air, the outside world, your own sanity - all the nice things in life, basically - will only bring misery. Give in to the tedium. Forget what it feels like to think, to imagine, to dream. Embrace those extra pounds you’ve put on from food being the only thing you have to look forward to between the hours of 9am and 5pm. Soon you’ll come to love that tiny unlit cubicle.

Truth No. 3: The cessation of suffering is attainable
OK, we’re going to get a little metaphysical here. I promise it won’t hurt. Quite the opposite, in fact - this is about the cessation of suffering, remember? The Second Truth advocated letting go of the outside world, letting office life become your only reality. Some of you, I realise, may have found the idea a tad dispiriting, but fear not, and here’s the metaphysical bit: office life is just an illusion. That’s right. It’s not real. How could it be? I mean, would you rather believe it’s real? Well, exactly.

Truth No. 4: The Eightfold Path to the cessation of suffering
To elaborate: Right View; Right Intention; Right Speech; Right Action; Right Livelihood; Right Effort; Right Mindfulness; and Right Concentration.

Well, that’s Right Livelihood covered; I think we’ve established at least that much. As for the others, suffice it to say: have you never wondered what exactly the point is of performance reviews and self-evaluations? Yep, that’s right: think of them as a spiritual MOT. A few reincarnations later, and before you know it you’ll be enjoying Nirvana.

So, there you have it; Admin: not soul-destroying at all.

Hardly seems possible, does it?

About the Author

Inspired by Secretarialcareers.co.uk Unknown as to why but it got me thinking.

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