This week has been a really stressful week for me. I have had multiple tests and numerous homework assignments as well as commitments to my fraternity. I never really had a chance to slow down this week. Normally, that is not such a bad or unusual thing, as long as I have a chance to refresh and get ready for the next week. I normally take Sundays to do this sort of thing. In the christian faith, this is called a “Sabbath” and is a very important practice because it allows for the restoration of body and mind.
As of lately though, I have not been able to observe this particular practice, and I can feel the consequences. My mind is slower, my body weaker, and my motivation decreased. Today even, I began to wonder whether or not all of the work I was doing was even worth it. I then started to think about the present pace of life and how it is compared to those in Emma and Mrs. Dalloway. Life for them does not go so fast. Sure, there is work done, but only so much as is needed. They have the time to take a break, to paint a picture, to attend a party. They are not constantly moving--constantly filling their lives with things to do.
I feel like today we focus so much on working in order to make our lives worth it. We go to school for years not because we love to learn, but because we want to make money. We put a lot of effort into our work, even outside of our “work,” so that we can get ahead of everyone else. Soon, according to this mentality, we find ourselves working all of time, never taking time to ourselves or our families. Too often do I hear stories of a father who was never around because he was always working.
We have so much vested into what we accomplish that we work so hard to get to that point, and then once we have reached it, we are no longer satisfied with what we’ve made. Once we have “arrived” we look back and are unhappy with what our life looks like. we end up getting precisely what we wanted, but we look back on all the time wasted. While scurrying around to make as much money as possible, we left people trampled in our dust, our families neglected.
I do not want to end up like one of those fathers. I want to work enough to get by. I want to be able to provide for my family. I do not need to work so much as to be able to provide each member of my family with excessive things. I do not need to drive a Lexus or put TVs in every room. I feel like we (especially as Americans) often work to get things when our work should be the means by which we survive.
Just as work is important to surviving, being still is important to truly living. Doing one without the other will always lead to disparity.
As of lately though, I have not been able to observe this particular practice, and I can feel the consequences. My mind is slower, my body weaker, and my motivation decreased. Today even, I began to wonder whether or not all of the work I was doing was even worth it. I then started to think about the present pace of life and how it is compared to those in Emma and Mrs. Dalloway. Life for them does not go so fast. Sure, there is work done, but only so much as is needed. They have the time to take a break, to paint a picture, to attend a party. They are not constantly moving--constantly filling their lives with things to do.
I feel like today we focus so much on working in order to make our lives worth it. We go to school for years not because we love to learn, but because we want to make money. We put a lot of effort into our work, even outside of our “work,” so that we can get ahead of everyone else. Soon, according to this mentality, we find ourselves working all of time, never taking time to ourselves or our families. Too often do I hear stories of a father who was never around because he was always working.
We have so much vested into what we accomplish that we work so hard to get to that point, and then once we have reached it, we are no longer satisfied with what we’ve made. Once we have “arrived” we look back and are unhappy with what our life looks like. we end up getting precisely what we wanted, but we look back on all the time wasted. While scurrying around to make as much money as possible, we left people trampled in our dust, our families neglected.
I do not want to end up like one of those fathers. I want to work enough to get by. I want to be able to provide for my family. I do not need to work so much as to be able to provide each member of my family with excessive things. I do not need to drive a Lexus or put TVs in every room. I feel like we (especially as Americans) often work to get things when our work should be the means by which we survive.
Just as work is important to surviving, being still is important to truly living. Doing one without the other will always lead to disparity.
Austen, Jane. Emma. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2004. Print
Woolf, Virginia, and Bonnie Kime Scott. Mrs. Dalloway. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2005. Print.
Although I agree with your statements that Americans tend to work too much, I believe that work also brings a sense of fulfillment. I think that spending time with family and loved ones is one of the most important things in life, but work adds a different meaning to one's life.
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