The Reinvention of Work: New Vision of Livelihood for Our Time, A [Paperback]

Matthew Fox (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1995

In The Reinvention of Work, radical priest Matthew Fox draws on a rich legacy of great mystics and philosophers and proposes a spirituality of work. As Thomas Aquinas said, "To live well is to work well," and in this bold call for the revitalization of daily work, Fox shares his vision of a world where our personal and professional lives are celebrated in harmony--a world where the self is not sacrificed for a job but is sanctified by authentic "soul work."

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

"To live well is to work well," wrote Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century, yet many people are reporting to jobs every day that provide little satisfaction. Fox, a former Catholic priest and widely published author (Creation Spirituality, LJ 5/1/91), asserts that life and livelihood are about spirit. He contrasts the machine era, when the universe was perceived as a machine, with the green ("sheen") era, when the universe is seen as a mystery and where God is in all things. Arguing that all work should have dignity, Fox envisions a work world in which intellect, heart, and health harmonize to celebrate the whole person. Though Fox achieves his aims of providing an essay in "deep ecumenism," his philosophy of work seems to have little practical relevance to the work world. Recommended for libraries with modern philosophy and creation spirituality collections.
Ravonne A. Green, Emmanuel Coll. Lib., Franklin Springs, Ga.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A big step toward a new, promising age of human scale and sacred context." -- --Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul and Soul Mates

"A sweeping, enticing vision, pulsing with Fox's unrelenting passion." -- --San Francisco Chronicle

"Impassioned...life-affirming." -- --New Age Journal

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (April 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060630620
• ISBN-13: 978-0060630621
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Personally appealing, largely impractical, August 21, 2005

By 

Diane Schirf - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Reinvention of Work: A New Vision of Livelihood for Our Time (Hardcover)

In The Reinvention of Work, Matthew Fox brings together the work of Eastern and Western mystics, ancient, medieval, and modern, to propose a new paradigm for how we work and what we do. Citing Meister Eckhart, Thomas Aquinas, Hildegard von Bingen, the Bhagavad Gita, Tao Te Ching, Studs Terkel, Patch Adams, and progressive economists, Fox explores the concept of work and how it can be healthier physically, emotionally, and intellectually, but primarily socially, environmentally, and spiritually.

Fox believes that the Enlightenment and the industrial age have left us with a machine-centered, anthropocentric world that focuses on outer work and rewards at the cost of inner work and spirituality, and destroys rather than creates. Real wealth results from preserving the health of the planet, not in the artificiality of money or possessions. The result has been a world often at war, where the gaps between affluent and poor continue to spread, where the environmental health of non-industrialised nations is sacrificed for the comforts of the industrialised, and where the work that is available and that most people have serves machines and leaves the worker stressed, addicted to work, ill, angry and even violent, and unfulfilled intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.

Fox cites mystics like Eckhart and Aquinas to show that they understood what is important and that they prophetically understood the traps that man is prone to fall into. He also recounts the stories of people who reinvent themselves through work, who are willing to sacrifice position and possessions to find an avocation that matters, like the man who gives up a high-paying position to become a fireman and who is ecstatic about the meaning it brings to his life.

Fox carefully sets up all that is wrong with our modern concept of work and, indeed, life, since so much of who we are, how we feel, and how we live is tied up in what we do for a living, or what we mistakenly call "work." His proposed solutions are centered around creation spirituality, which is a "creation-centered mysticism that is also prophetic and socially transformative." While creation spirituality is not very clearly defined here-Fox has written several other books about it and refers to them-it appears to center around the idea that creation comes from within and that we create our world, which is part of a greater, interdependent cosmos that continues to undergo creation. For Fox, "enlightenment" might mean recognising and embracing creation spirituality and our responsibility and role in the ongoing creation of the cosmos-a recognition that begins with inner work and extends outer work, and that redefines wealth and poverty. Fox is quick to point out that this is neither communism nor socialism, both of which suffer from the same destructive values as capitalism.

There are many elements involved in creation spirituality, which embraces many aspects of life that have been neglected, distorted, or abused, from education, health care, art, psychology, and sexuality to something he believes is critical yet missing or misused-ritual. In creation spirituality and the reinvention of work, properly conceived and performed ritual is meaningful, bringing people together, bringing out emotions, and acknowledging what has been done in the name of war, destruction, and hate. Ritual can also be playful and energising, for example, circle dances. Whatever the focus, ritual brings us together to share our common joys and sorrows. Ritual heals.

Mysticism appeals to me, and Fox's assessments of what's wrong and what could be done to change our course make sense and are supported by the quotes he provides from a broad array of sources, including psychologists, economists, writers, and artists. The consequences of not changing are clear, but it is equally clear that those consequences have not penetrated to either the masses or their leaders. (Even the rising price of gasoline in 2005 has not inspired any more than cautious apprehension.) We are like smokers who are able to quit our habit only when terminal lung cancer has been diagnosed.

To get billions of conditioned consumers (and their consumers-in-training children) to give up their increasingly complex lifestyles, comforts, and amusements in the interest of a healthier, more just world for all and for better personal mental and physical health requires a utopian change that most people will not embrace. As with the Woolgers in their book, The Goddess Within, Fox tries to find a movement in the mid-1990s that has not materialised yet. Generally, people do not choose to change; they are forced to. Perhaps someday, when the gaps have widened too far, and society and our home can no longer support our appetites (and the corresponding waste), we may be ready to listen to Fox and his adherents, at which point they will need to provide practical answers. Who will "make ritual"? Who will produce the necessities and how? Who will distribute them? How will they be paid, or what will replace a monetary/barter economy? What if there is imbalance between what people want to do and what needs to be done? In practical, everyday terms, what does the reinvention of work look like? And do I want to live long enough to experience the disasters that are likely to be required to bring it about?

Eckhart, Aquinas, von Bingen, the Bhagavad Gita, Tao Te Ching-all wise beyond their times. And beyond ours as well.

Diane L. Schirf, 21 August 2005.

32 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Positive, uplifting, and not terribly practical, March 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Reinvention of Work: New Vision of Livelihood for Our Time, A (Paperback)

Like most of Fox's books, this one ranges from the sublime (the cosmic implications of "true work") to the ridiculous (there's nothing sillier than a celibate priest writing about sex). And Fox's ego is far too much in evidence at times. Still, I'd recommend this book to anyone who's trying to rethink their relationship to "work." I picked it up at a time when I was undergoing immense life and career changes. Although it wasn't much help in practical decision-making, it did give me a fresh perspective on how my values related to the jobs I'd had (they didn't), and got me thinking about how I could translate them into work I felt better about. Also, although I'm a former Catholic and hypersensitive to writers who try to force their doctrinal perspective on you, I felt that Fox generally managed to be spiritual without being sectarian (that's probably why he's no longer a Catholic!). In general, this book has a lot to recommend it, although keeping your tongue in your cheek at times is strongly advised.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Reinvention of Work: A New Vision of Livelihood for Our, August 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Reinvention of Work: New Vision of Livelihood for Our Time, A (Paperback)

The Reinvention of Work changed the way I view work. As a Career Counselor I realized new ways to work with clients. The book helps one go deeper into understanding what we are really all about in relationship to work. It is not a self-help book and does not profess to be one. The book helps us step outside of ourselves and to consider what is important to each of us in our work beyond the paycheck. It truly creates a vision of what our work life can be if we take the time to listen to our inner wisdom.