It seems we have taken the sacred out of most of our modern lives. For example, we produce, consume, and discard food without stopping to appreciate the wonder of seeds that turn into trees, which then bear fruit that nourishes our bodies and souls.

Isn’t a perfect peach or an apple a miracle of ingenuity and an expression of earthly delight? Isn’t golden wheat blowing in the wind — and our craft of turning it into bread — a nourishing and creative collaboration between nature and humans? Still, we have trivialized this sacred interdependence, ravaging nature for our personal benefit and treating food as a commodity.

In much the same way, we go through life checking off items on our to-do lists without a thought given to daily opportunities for spiritual growth and transformation in our work environment. We are even willing to give up essential aspects of our being in order to fulfill job expectations instead of treating the work we do in the world as an opportunity to express our love, dedication, expertise, service, and creativity.