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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Rainy Days Make Me Think...Why Aren't We Living The Lives We Want?

I think one has to travel outside of the continental United States to realize how different things are for us. We have a lot to be thankful for, but we also miss out on a lot. I think we often miss out on life because we stress the importance of work ethic more than we do pleasure and enjoyment.

Many other successful, industrialized nations, offer 'siestas' in the middle of the day, for employes to take a break from the workday. I shared one of my favorite short stories a while back on this blog, (it can be found here) and I find it appropriate to reflect back on it again.
We are all going to die. My apologies for the morbidity of that statement, but one can't argue the truth!! I just wonder why we place the most emphasis on work and monetary gain, and not as much on living in the moment, cherishing those we love, and making sacrifices (even in the work department!) for the sake of nourishing our relationships. I know nobody 'knows' what happens when we die, but I believe in the deepest part of my heart and soul that the relationships we cultivate, the really good ones that you feel deep within, last far after our physical bodies do. But we spend less time cultivating those relationships than we do at the office. Making money.

I reflect today, from my job (which I often feel grateful for, but also resentful toward), on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount...specifically, the message on materialism found in Matthew 6:19-21....I often find myself reflecting on this message. Many Christians say the Sermon on the Mount is the basis of Christianity, and yet, hardly anybody (present company included) applies it in a literal sense. I find irony in Christians telling people who are gay they are condemned to hell, but the actual words out of Jesus' mouth are ignored on a daily basis by the very same people. I digress...

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven....For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also...Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear....Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet their Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?....Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."


On a sidenote...Matthew 6:24 states, "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."

Obviously, nobody I know chooses to follow this message. We work day in, day out, trying to support ourselves, and our families. There is virtue in that! We must be responsible. I think the fine line is when we commit ourselves to work at the sacrifice of our loved ones. If we were to not work, and watched our families starve, we'd be sacrificing them again. There is a balance. I'm still trying to find it, but I know there is a balance.

I'm committing to taking more time off this year, even if I don't have a destination/vacation/appointment, just to spend time with my husband-to-be. I think that will help our first year of marriage, and in my heart, I think that is more important than my job. More importantly, I think my boss would understand. "Personal Days" are there for a reason...and I plan to take them! Even if it's just to sleep in on the next rainy day, and watch a movie with my favorite person. That doesn't make me lazy (even though our society has brainwashed me to think it does)...and I have Jesus to thank for that.

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