By George Marino, CPC, CMMT
May 3, 2022
This poem is my interpretation of a Rumi poem called “One-Handed Basket Weaving” and our search for meaningful work.
One-Handed Accounting
I’ve said before that every professional
searches for what’s not there
to practice their skills.
A dentist looks for a beautiful smile
where the tooth caved in. A waiter
picks the empty glass. A doctor
stops and brings your health.
Accountants move toward some semblance
of emptiness, which they then
start to fill. Their hope, though,
is beyond balancing the books, so don’t think
you must avoid it. It contains
what you need! Dear accountant, if you were not friends
with the vast nothing inside,
why would you always be casting your net
into it and waiting so mindfully?
This invisible ocean of a T account has given you such abundance,
but still you call it “death,”
that which provides wisdom and work.
We call it “death” because it is shocking, uncomfortable, and takes us out of our comfort zones. This is precisely where we need to go. When we step into this unknown, we experience fear and frustration, but gradually—and sometimes suddenly—those emotions will transform into hope and joy.