I am wondering about this thing called life balance. What is it? What is balance?
If I listen to the exercise guru's I need 1 hour a day to physical exercise; the sleep doctors tell me I need at least 8 hours a night; a job tells me I need to put in 50 hours a week - if I am going to keep a job and plan on doing well; then there is family, spouse, church, social activities, etc, etc, etc...
I read somewhere this past week that if we take a real hard look at all the modern conveniences that are supposed to make our life easier and more "in balance," their cost drives us to have to work more. The harder I work, the more conveniences I NEED in order to survive the demands of life, therefore the more money I need to try and keep everything else in balance...so, I put in 60 hours or take another job - and the cycle continues.
Jesus washed peoples feet...he didn't pay for them to have a manicure. Maybe all these conveniences are really stealing away our freedom and balance.
If I am feeling environmentally friendly, I buy the latest energy saving vehicle, but pay twice the cost of a non-energy saving vehicle and therefore I have to drive it three times further to actually get the money back.
I don't have the answer, but somewhere in this whole mess it seems that a priority system has gone haywire..."I wish I had an app for that"...so I could quickly bring everything back into balance...and there we go again - what is being in balance?
The "Jones" (no intent to list anyone I actually know) seem to be in balance, maybe I should do what they do. But, the "Smiths" seem in balance too. In America, don't I have a "right" to everything - especially balance with a retirement fund?
I know, too deep to really have an answer in one blog. But I write because somewhere I believe we are in this human condition together...yet we try to solve all our issues individually.
Jesus fed over 5000 with a meal for one, but it wasn't smoked salmon or even McDonalds - I wonder how hungry we have to be to accept what we can do together?
Food for thought - what do you think?
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
21st Century Thinking
Did anybody's parents tell them they needed to finish their plate before they could leave the table? (no offense mom and dad, the point is further down).
Today it seems, we see childhood obesity and blame the past generation for "making" us finish our plate. But, what is not mentioned, or what is forgotten, is that what was left on the plate were the veggies. Somehow we have it in our heads that where we are at, or what we are doing has nothing to do with us - it is somebody else, something else, or it is simply beyond our control.
I instantly feel better if I can reason that it (whatever "it" is) has nothing to do with me - and somebody agrees with me.
I think today we are led to believe we have less control than we really do.
Our current American economy is an example - how many live in a cocoon and have the thought (even for a split second) - it's not my problem? We have become so protective and individualistic, that what goes on "out there" is not really relevant - but what happens to me is not my fault either.
Now there are legitimate situations that occur from no action or inaction of the one affected. But, far too often we take credit for the positive things we did nothing for, and blame other things for the bad things that we experience.
Where has all this modern day thinking got us? Perhaps we have lost creativity - perhaps be have lost the ability to manage independence. Isn't there an enormous amount of responsibility in independence?
This week I saw an email that stated if the leadership of the day had waited to solve their countries problems before commissioning Columbus to set out to sea, where would we be today? - good question.
Today's problems in our world, or in our lives individually, are not going to be solved with the same thinking we had yesterday. We need ingenuity, creativity, freshness, and discovery...all of which is constricted if I am always looking at blaming someone or something else.
Now off to bed so I can awake and have the answers to all of life's problems...
Goodnight!
Today it seems, we see childhood obesity and blame the past generation for "making" us finish our plate. But, what is not mentioned, or what is forgotten, is that what was left on the plate were the veggies. Somehow we have it in our heads that where we are at, or what we are doing has nothing to do with us - it is somebody else, something else, or it is simply beyond our control.
I instantly feel better if I can reason that it (whatever "it" is) has nothing to do with me - and somebody agrees with me.
I think today we are led to believe we have less control than we really do.
Our current American economy is an example - how many live in a cocoon and have the thought (even for a split second) - it's not my problem? We have become so protective and individualistic, that what goes on "out there" is not really relevant - but what happens to me is not my fault either.
Now there are legitimate situations that occur from no action or inaction of the one affected. But, far too often we take credit for the positive things we did nothing for, and blame other things for the bad things that we experience.
Where has all this modern day thinking got us? Perhaps we have lost creativity - perhaps be have lost the ability to manage independence. Isn't there an enormous amount of responsibility in independence?
This week I saw an email that stated if the leadership of the day had waited to solve their countries problems before commissioning Columbus to set out to sea, where would we be today? - good question.
Today's problems in our world, or in our lives individually, are not going to be solved with the same thinking we had yesterday. We need ingenuity, creativity, freshness, and discovery...all of which is constricted if I am always looking at blaming someone or something else.
Now off to bed so I can awake and have the answers to all of life's problems...
Goodnight!
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