Der Beruf: Occupation

While in English we often (or at least technically) refer to a ‘Job’ as an ‘Occupation’ (literally something that occupies us and our time), I love that the German word for occupation (Beruf) is composed of the word ‘Ruf’ which translates into ‘Call/ Calling’. The German word reminds us that our ‘occupation’ should not simply be something that ‘occupies’ our time, but rather something that ‘calls’ us. And so now I’ll ask you, is your job something that simply ‘occupies’ your time or is it your calling?

Overview

Some say (Swiss) German isn’t a beautiful (let alone sexy) language. I beg to differ. While my relationship with German has had its ups and downs, I’ve learned to love it. While (Swiss) German’s hard guttural sounds sometimes seem harsh, I found many (Swiss) German words to have deeply beautiful, even philosophical, roots. By breaking these words apart, I have not only learned to love them more, I was able to make quick associations to be able to use them.