Much of the world understands something that many Americans miss. They know what they are working for. Life is more than a job and to enjoy life means investing in you and the relationships in your life.
When I was living in Germany, my step mom got 6 weeks vacation. That was not after years of service - that was to start! Rest and family time was important and valued as a culture. During my semester abroad in London, I worked for a PR company. I was required to be gone for a full hour for lunch and on more than one occasion I was asked to stop working so fast. The pace was something I’d never experienced at a job in the US. Europeans know there is more to life than just "geterdone." They work to live not live to work. They understand that a well rested human produces more because they have more to give.
Recently, I was communicating with a friend via Facebook comments. She had a baby a few months ago. She, like me, is a recovering overachiever, and was struggling with the lack of managing her to-do list. When a baby comes into your life, that to-do list needs to go away. Babies need our time and attention and the bar of what we can accomplish needs to drop considerably. I reminded her about this season and the expectation adjustment that needs to take place.
I also reminded her of the Israelites in the desert. After Moses leads the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, they spend 40 years wandering in the desert (it wasn't supposed to be that long, but they had a bad moment that needed time allow them to move on). So the question is: was their live less valuable because they wandered in the desert 40 years? No! Our value is not found in what we can accomplish and yet, I know I’ve unwittingly believed that lie at times (who am I kidding, I believe it all the time).
This is a hard reminder because many of us, work to gain value. We feel like we are only amazing when we are slaying our day, but truthfully, our value is constant and not dependent on what we do. People are valuable, period.
We need to understand that there are times in life when we need to change the expectations. There is value in taking it slow and enjoying life. There is value in giving people the time and attention they need. There is value in resting so your body can heal or stay well. There is value in taking moments of quiet mediation so your brain can regroup. We also need to have patience with those who have lost their way. Yes, the recovering drug addict may have regrets from years they let drugs control their life, but they are still valuable, which is why they fight to overcome the addiction.
Take some time to understand your season. The opposite truth is also worth looking at. Maybe your kids are grown and you have time and freedom you didn't have and now you need to add a bit to your life plate. Where are you in life? What season? Are you taking that into consideration as you organize your days, weeks and months? We need to make the moments count, but that won't look the same for all of us. What does that look like for you?
