conceptualization of motivation

a man covered in silt, dirt, and coal-dust, wearing overalls and a hard-hat lives in a corner of my soul. he is my age and his dwelling appears as a small cave-like room. The same murky coating that covers his face and body also covers the walls and floor of his surroundings.

whenever hes felt overwhelmed or down or doubtful a chute in the ceiling would open up and more filth and coal dust would rush in. at some point (or "one day" if you prefer) as pointless as it seemed he started digging around in this room. to his astonishment he discovered that in the floor, right there in the floor, covered with years of filth was a beautiful blue radiant light. it was small and cylindrical, but the light it gave was radiant and beautiful. it made him feel warm and useful to see this light so he started digging with a small shovel moving the dust and sludge away from it. this man began to notice something. the stagnant room he was in was moving. it was not just a stationary room but a vehicle or machine. it was now moving, he was moving, he was moving it!! he was controlling it by his efforts. this only made him dig more. sweat mixed with tears of joy streamed down his face revealing tracks of clean skin beneath.

before long he cleared all the dust from the light. the machine continued on. harshly cranking at first then rhythmically, it moved. the man could not describe what he felt. it was as though for the first time in his life. purpose. he realized he could make this great hunky sluggish machine move. he controlled his destiny. he was not stuck in a room, he was the pilot of an amazing machine.

today he still cleans the light, sometimes getting down on his hands and knees with a rag scrubbing off any remnants of coal-dust. and still, on occasion that chute opens up and dumps a heap of sludge into his room and onto his light. but its different now. now he has the knowledge of that light, and this keeps the machine going, keeps him going.