A Philosopher Looks at The Work of The Home - Inés pelissier - Homemakers project

I think that the work of the home is something wonderful because it is work that creates happiness and that is what is not seen when you think of it as something dry, soulless, they say. Besides, all work could be described as routine and our lives are routine because for a start we are always going to get up in the morning and go to bed at night, that is more or less certain, the day will dawn and night will fall, we are going to go out to work, our life is made up of routine. And therefore our lives in paid work outside the home as the work that we do at home has its share of routine but everything depends on the way we look at this work, the way in which we carry it out, putting our heart into it. I myself love these words of the French poet Verlaine which say "the humble life with its boring and easy tasks is a choice taken which requires a great deal of love". I do not know if there is a philosophy for the work of the home but there is one for work and there is also a conception of domestic work. What then is work? The word work comes from the Latin tripalium which means an instrument of torture, therefore as soon as we speak of work we are referring to something laborious. Work can be remunerated, we produce goods or render services in exchange for a salary and work can also not be remunerated as is often the case for the work of the home. What is domestic work? It is the work of the home, domus means home. What do we do at home? We maintain things, we care for children, we care for people, we look after their environment and we make sure they are happy, contented, in this environment. Therefore it is work that has to be creative and if it is intelligent work it will be creative and artistic as well, for example, a house is not only somewhere to sleep, it is a place to be fitted out to make it welcoming, attractive, well decorated, it is not simply a place to put beds, a table, some shelves to help them, we will try and make and make it warm place, therefore we will consider the colour, the decor, the pictures on the walls, the colour of the walls, the curtains, that is a work of art. If the house is perceived by the family as a hotel, it is no longer a home for the family, it is an indifferent place. The great difference is that the house belongs to that family and therefore, in that home each one has his place, each one feels welcome. I think that the important idea for me is this idea that the work of the home creates happiness if, as Verlaine says, we put a lot of love into it.