# The Bottomless Pit By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2024-01-05 It is common to find basic story structures shared among various societies. One such construction revolves around a bottomless pit exiting outside society. A bottomless pit exists in some dark place, perhaps a forest or remote part of the jungle, where people are not supposed to go. This pit is dangerous. If one were to fall in, nobody could save the individual. These types of stories are interesting first due to their ubiquity. Beyond that, they are interesting in terms of our collective fears. Lastly, they suggest something about societal control over individuals. As it relates to organizations, the metaphor of a bottomless pit is useful metaphorically. Meaningless work can seem to be filed in the bottomless pit of the organization. One spends years working with no discernable effect. It is as if one has done nothing. The pit consumes all and precludes accumulation and progress. There is work and nothing else. As with the root myth, nobody from society can save the individual if one falls into the bottomless pit. No motivational posters or offsite days can pull someone from the abyss. Interestingly, stories of bottomless pits tend to focus on only two elements: a) the danger and b) unfortunate people who didn't heed the danger and who fell into the pit, never to be heard from again. Implied by these is a third group, the intelligent members of society who avoid the bottomless pit at all costs. As a metaphor for work, a fourth group is more important than the original three. One can build a bridge over the bottomless pit and progress beyond the given society's constraints. If one feels that one's work is pointless, build a bridge over the bottomless pit that perpetually devours one's work. Move forward and beyond. Drudgery is perhaps the default for work, but it isn't the only outcome. One can make work a source of creativity and fulfillment. This will never occur if one goes through life and works in the bottomless pit of bureaucracy. One can move from myth to legend. #### Related Items [[Work]] [[Society]] [[Myths]] [[Intelligence]] [[Metaphors]] [[Drudgery]]