Privileged or ... blessed?

A bit of philosophy to start with while still in Ice Cold Delft. 
Dedicated to Ana & Carolina in still far away Colombia and to Chris & Ronny, their daughters, their sons in law, their grand children... my family since a long time, and last but not least , to all UNESCO-IHE alumni and participants who made this adventure possible.

Job satisfaction.
Usually someone is rewarded for the work done by getting a payment. Most think that their remuneration is largely insufficient for their achievements... it probably is.
We tend to forget that job satisfaction is maybe also a reward for spending a significant amount of time contributing to a higher goal or just filling the boss' pocket. If we take this into account it is most because we want the lack of satisfaction compensated by more money.
A few years ago, working at UNESCO-IHE, I decided that my job satisfaction was more important than my salary, (And G.D knows that sometimes I regret this decision when the bills are rolling out of my mailbox). Don't think this was an idea that emerged one day I woke up and being a single thought. It's a process that one experiences and gives you peace of mind and warmth at heart.

For a fistful of Euros.
One of my convictions is that when you find satisfaction in your duties it reflects on others and in the context of a job it radiates on your colleagues, your clients... Nothing new under the sun, you think, as probably whole libraries are filled with scientific literature about this theme.
Bringing your convictions into practice is the more challenging part of the thought. Let me be clear, it's not about convincing your boss or your colleagues, or the people you are living with. It is about defining within your own character how you can give a certain amount of satisfaction and receiving a similar amount of satisfaction back. Don't look at it as communicating vessels in a lab but rather as a natural way of standing in life that easily brings a smile on your and someone else's face, what largely compensates a few euro's more.

The privileged part.
In the context of my job it's a privilege to enter every day into what I call a micro version of the big world outside. It's like landing with a plane every minute in a different place on earth, meeting new people and find back known ones in all possible diversity.
It's a privilege to experience people from all over the world in a nutshell day by day by day... It's a privilege because of so many reasons covering all facets of life. It's a privilege to work and live in such an environment.
In a few days I will head for Colombia. Not for business! ... on a vacation. I will probably meet a lot of alumni from UNESCO-IHE.
That is a privilege, but let me rephrase....

Count your blessings.
In a few days I will head for Colombia. On a long holiday  that was offered to me by participants of UNESCO-IHE and at the Colombian home front you could say a temporary travel agency was created to offer me what they call 'the best holiday of my life'!
That is the part when the privilege becomes a blessing.
Is this the result of job satisfaction? To conclude that this is only related to it is probably a bit exaggerated but...

Privileged or ... blessed?
Without hesitation ... the answer to the question I asked at the beginning of this argument is....
"I'm privileged to work in a most wonderful job environment... AND... I'm blessed with the most fantastic bunch of friends someone can have!"

Delft, January 25, 2013.