Opening up

Elios stood tall before the gathered faithful. Sunlight streamed through the high windows, casting golden beams upon the wooden and rather simple carvings of the gods that adorned the stone walls. Elios raised his arms, his deep voice resonating like rolling thunder, filling every corner of the sacred space.

"Brothers and sisters," he began, his tone both warm and unyielding, "there is no greater pleasure than that found in the honesty of work. No joy more fulfilling than the sweat upon one's brow, the ache in one's hands, the fatigue in one's bones after a day spent shaping, building, crafting, or tilling. It is in toil that we are closest to the divine, for the gods themselves labored to carve the world from the void. And so too must we labor to carve meaning from our own lives."