Work Is Love Made Visible

I’ve had a lifelong love affair with the writings of Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran, particularly his book The Prophet. Below, at the bottom of this blog, is his writing on the subject of ‘work’. I’m particularly taken with the idea that “Work is love made visible”. Even in my ‘when I’ve won lotto’ dreams, work is still the foundation to my life. Why? We are each born with a life purpose and it is part of the human soul to contribute to the greater good (whether by vocation, career or other sort of community service); a silent recognition that we are connected to Earth, animals, plants and humans (even if we are not consciously aware of this).

 

Philanthropists are often born from excess wealth and the desire to make a difference. But whether we have millions to share or not, we can each leave a mark on this world and have a beneficial impact. Maybe the overwhelming desire some people have for fame is the wish to be influential (in a positive way) rather than fame for the egoic sake of being visible and popular. Creating change is a way of bringing vital new energy into the lives around us, and this can be done regardless of title, income or background.

 

Work comprises a large part of our lives. Indeed, as children, we’re often asked: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The ‘be’ is always asked in relation to career or vocation. Surely it would be better to ask: “In what way do you want to make a difference/give yourself to this world?” Or, how about “Who do you want to be when you grow up?” “How do you want to be?”

Have you ever asked yourself those questions? If not, try now.

My answer for ‘how do I want to be when I grow up’, might look like this:

Kind
Caring
Thoughtful
Creative
Gentle
Wise
Passionate
Enthusiastic
Spiritually aware
Curious
Interested

 

The innate sense of ‘having a purpose’ is universal. In my role as a funeral celebrant, I have noted that those people whose lives were rich with interesting hobbies and leisure interests tended to live longer in retirement than those who had no such interests or passions. 

 

I’ll never forget the day, back when working as a journalist in a newspaper newsroom, when one of my colleagues came back from an interview and told us all about this amazing woman she’d met. The woman in question not only ran her own business, but was widely read, was on various committees, had a range of interesting hobbies and so on. I listened in awe and it ignited a spark in me. The realisation that we could do or be anything, and that we didn’t have to choose ‘just one thing’ was enormously appealing. That day changed everything for me and I vowed to live a life as full and meaningful and rich as that woman. Purpose and passion. For me, they go hand in hand. Purpose is fuelled by passion.

 

We live in a world of rent and mortgages. A life that involves eating each or most days (so we need some semblance of a kitchen and things to cook with). We seek to have experiences like adventures and holidays and to nourish ourselves with books (oh, maybe that’s just me!), clothes, cafés, and so on. And for the majority of us, this involves having to go to work to pay for such things. How do we choose our work? What leans us in a certain direction? Perhaps we showed a certain aptitude in school and were guided down a path that maybe later on in life we questioned or even regretted. I laugh that the comment on one of my school reports was that I needed a ‘hybrid’ course to deal with my varied interests. Hybrid indeed! The writing was clearly on the wall before my epiphany in the newsroom that day.

 

There was a time when careers were for life. Nowadays, people choose to pivot into different paths and make the most of these other ways of living and working. My career choices have always come back to the common theme of communication. Have you noticed a theme to your working life? Or maybe you’ve pivoted in completely different directions.

The appeal for many people of training to be a celebrant is that there is a strong sense (even if they can’t articulate it at the time) of the role being about ‘love made visible’. After thirty years as a celebrant, officiating ceremonies internationally and across all rites of passage (and then some!), I can, hand on heart, say that each ceremony is a visible expression of what lives in my heart. When I’m training people to be celebrants, I certainly hope this comes through not only in the books I’ve written but in the way I teach. That is, this isn’t just a job or way to pay bills, but a way of life: the heart-led way of life.

 

 

From The Prophet. This poem is in the public domain.

On Work

Then a ploughman said, Speak to us of Work.
And he answered, saying:
You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.
For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life’s procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.

When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.
Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?

Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.
But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part of earth’s furthest dream, assigned to you when the dream was born,
And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,
And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life’s inmost secret.

But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written.

You have been told also that life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.
And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,
And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,
And all work is empty save when there is love;
And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.

And what is it to work with love?
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.
It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.
It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.
It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,
And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.

Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, “He who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is nobler than he who ploughs the soil.
And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet.”
But I say, not in sleep but in the overwakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass;
And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.

Work is love made visible.
And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man’s hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man’s ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.

Veronika Robinson has been officiating all manner of ceremonies since 1995, and alongside her husband Paul  are industry leaders offering professional celebrant training.

Veronika Robinson has a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing, is the author of over thirty books, including several for celebrants including The Five Elements; The Successful Celebrant; Write That Eulogy; Funerals for Children; The Discrimination-free Celebrant. Love Story is publishing in Winter 2026.

She is a certified Infant Loss Professional; founder of Penrith’s first Death Café; has a TQUK Level 2 Certificate in Self-harm and Suicide Awareness and Prevention; is a celebrant for the charity Gift of a Wedding; mentors celebrants around the world in all aspects of celebrancy including mastering writing life stories and love stories; and hosts retreats for celebrants. Veronika founded and edited The Celebrant magazine. Issues 1 to 13 can be found here.