I've had this post rattling around in my head for the past few days but got distracted by 'Nashville,' my favourite EVER television program, which I have to keep reminding myself is infact, fiction. So here it is, better late than never!
I have mentioned topics similar to this before, but never this exactly. I want to talk about where we place our true value. Is it in people, or is it in things?
We all like to accumulate things. I, for one cannot stop buying things that one day will fill a home of my own. I'm forever buying tea-sets, vintage glass, anything from Cath Kidston (hence the picture) and strangely enough, bed linen. But what would happen if one day, I was asked to give it all up? What if all these nice things that would make for a beautiful tea party were one day taken away from me? Would life still be liveable? For me, OF COURSE.
My treasure doesn't live in the things that I own. I don't place more value on my laptop than my friends. Though it may do a lot of good things for me such as; allow me to send emails, listen to music, watch films, edit photos, make presentations - it doesn't do other things like; listen to me when i'm upset, offer me support and guidance, love me, make me laugh, support me, console me. All the 'real' things that I couldn't do without.
I have learnt this lesson first hand lately. At the moment, seeing as though I only work part time, I am not exactly raking it in. I have to budget, say no to things I don't really need and think about where I want to invest the little that I do have. But working little hours has given me something truly beautiful. Time. Time to be with friends, to bake with them, to eat with them, to talk & listen to them, to drink tea with them, to relax with them. Time to be with my family. Time to read, to travel, to discover new places, to catch up with old friends and to make new ones. We all know that we don't get time back. We never know when it is going to run out, and we must, MUST, MUST learn to make the most of it.
We cannot spend our lives chasing after 'things' that in the end, mean nothing. We so easily convince ourselves that we need to be a part of the latest trends, that we need this or that to be truly included in a group etc etc. But do we? It's so hard in a world that tells us the complete opposite, that we are defined by our wealth, the beauty of our homes, what we drive, how we dress and who we are seen with. But when we take a step back, does any of that truly matter? Or instead should we be defined by something else?
Perhaps we should be defined by how well love each other. How accepting we are of others, despite our differences, financial status, location, occupation and live together in community. By how quickly forget the past, the arguments and disagreements that nobody can even remember why they started and move forwards. Our willingness to be inconvenienced to help somebody in need, or indeed somebody who wants a sympathetic ear. Our desire to give up our time to volunteer for a local Charity. Our joy to sacrifice a coffee to buy a homeless person some lunch. Or maybe our ability to recognise that people are more important than things?
Post a Comment
Please feel free to add your comments here...