Balanced Life
I have a dream... this is an incredibly famous phrase uttered by many people, the most famous of those being the late Martin Luther King. I'm sure that you have dreams and aspirations, it comes within the human DNA. The difference between those who have achieved their dreams, and those that don't, is their action undertaken to see their dreams and aspirations become a reality.
Here is an interesting Proverb I came across;
“If you find honey, eat just enough – too much of it, and you will vomit.”
Very wise words, by one of the greatest leaders of all time, that deals with this innate desire within many of us to see our hopes, dreams and aspirations lived out. We work so incredibly hard at seeing our dreams a reality that we fail to notice our chaos surrounding us. Enjoying the pleasure of eating honey or whatever you’re hoping to see come to fruition is good and brings great reward, but there is a danger in becoming unsatisfied with the reward that at one stage was, more than you could ever hope for.
I have always been challenged with the thought- What is enough? Will I be satisfied once I have a house of certain dimensions and a vacation house close to the best beaches or lakes? Will I have enough cars when I can drive a different one each day of the week? I have seen many people around me not know when they have come to the point of achieving their goals to only have a lack of contentment. Many athletes struggle once retiring from their sport, they are young in age relative to the rest of their lives lying ahead, and the thing that gave them their identity and purpose is gone.
Many people who work in organizations,like churches, charities and other organizations constantly justify that they are working hard to improve and help the lives of many people, yet sacrifice those closest to them. Many times their purpose and self fulfillment leaves the ones who they claim to be most dear to them feeling abandoned and neglected. There are those who travel 200 days of the year, because that is what is required of them, whether for personal success or a better livelihood, but they can not raise their children or develop an intimate relationship with their spouse without serious adaptations.
What are we doing to keep parents primary focus on that of parenting their children? We can’t be a generation focused on acquiring riches when our world needs parents who keep their focus on training up and developing our children, protecting that right and privilege, rather than asking the education system of the government (or other institutions) to do that.
It is in us to dream and aspire, but it is also in us to want for much more than we need or could ever manage to enjoy. We are living in a modern world where we have created more robotic systems and efficiency than at any other time before, yet we still have people not having enough time to live their lives and love those around them.
As the quote above says, we need to know, and have the wisdom to know, when we have had too much, when we have worked too long, when we have sacrificed our family’s relationships and lives enough. There is not enough money in the world to buy back a relationship or recover the harm our pursuits have caused.
The biggest need in today's world is balanced lives. We need people to balance their income and their giving. We need people to sacrifice a little more of their time at the workplace for working on the family at home.
In part 2, we will begin a “journey” of learning how to live balanced lives. Be sure not to miss it by signing up for the GROW newsletter.
