Zuo Zongtang once said, "It is better to nourish the mouth and body than to nourish the mind. To do things for others, we must pay attention to the fundamentals and get rid of the glitz." This means that if a person does things for others, he should not worry too much about food, clothing, housing, transportation, etc. In order to realize your own wisdom and cultivate your soul.
In the popular TV series "Human World" that was airing some time ago, the poet Feng Huacheng also used this allusion to explain filial piety. He said that there are two types of filial piety: nourishing the mouth and body and nourishing the mind. To nourish one's mouth and body is to serve one's parents and take care of their food, clothing, housing and transportation; to nourish one's mind is to travel far and high and accomplish something, making parents proud of it. He considered both equally important.
This is spiritual and material nourishment. However, filial piety from the body is relatively common, while filial piety from the mind is even more enviable and praised. This year, there is a very wealthy business family in my hometown. His father celebrated his 80th birthday and invited all the elderly people in the village over 60 years old to have a free meal to celebrate his birthday. This is nothing, but the key point is that he made tailor-made coats in advance for every elderly person over 60 years old. After the meal, each person was given a free coat. This made the whole village's elderly people smile from ear to ear. He kept praising that having such a son would be promising and honorable.
It's indeed good. When my father told me this, I felt that this son was too honorable to his father and his family. He was powerful in the whole village at that time. If only I had this ability, I don't know how happy and proud my father would be. It seems that nourishing the mouth and body depends on conscience, but nourishing the mind depends on ability. Fortunately, my father and Mr. Zuo Zongtang had the same view and were very satisfied with our health care.
In fact, I think that when we work, we are busy every day, going round and round, and it also nourishes the body and mind. This is probably the meaning of work.