It's 9:09 p.m. on a Tuesday night, and my roommate, Mason, is currently blaring John Denver's 'Thank God I'm a Country Boy' in the bathroom as he gives his pet Border Collie, Murray, a bath in our bathtub.
There are a couple of things about this whole scenario that crack me up- 1) that Mason listens to John Denver like a son would listen to his father's last words and 2) that Mason chooses this time of day to give his dog a bath after I know that he's had a long day at work; however, this kind of work ethic is something I love about my roommate and something that I've learned from him- selfless work doesn't always stop after the work day.
There have been a lot of examples in my life of hard workers working after the 'work day' is through, for example, my parents; however, at the time I was living with my parents, i was an adolescent who didn't know the value of hard work or all the hard work they put in to make life as easy as it seemed. However, now that I'm old enough to be living on my own in a house that takes work to run, I've learned to see the value of hard work after working hours, and my roommate is a prime example of that.
Mason is a producer at a news station and works crazy, countless hours, and then he shows up at home some time around 7 p.m. and goes to work again, taking care of his dog, meeting its needs, making dinner, doing side graphic design projects for people and so much more, and at the heart of it all, I've picked up that the art to working hard after working hours is being a selfless worker. It's about serving others first (even those others are pets) and being tired at the end of the day. I guarantee there's not one weekday night Mason goes to bed when he's not exhausted, if not just mentally, but physically as well. He's an example of selfless worker, and he's someone I can learn from in that department.
A key to growing up and being ready to have a family is being a selfless worker, ready to serve rather than be served, and I'm fortunate enough to live with a roommate who's a prime example of that. It isn't easy, and it's the opposite of lazy, but being a selfless worker and a selfless servant is at the heart of growing up into a man.
-Cliff
Cliff's Note: A selfless worker is a selfless servant.