June 17th, 2007
They say that when it rains it pours. It’s funny that during days like that all we want to do is curl up under the duvet and never come out. But thank goodness not all days have us reaching for the aspirin…And that some days can actually make us feel on top of the world! It seems as though all we need to do is to click our fingers and have what we have been working so hard for. Those are the days! What a shame that for the most part most days lie somewhere in the middle – pretty mediocre really. Same shows on TV, same politics at work, bumper to bumper traffic and a family that still drives us up the wall.
And the funny thing is that when you look into the eyes of the people you know – many seem fundamentally unhappy. I can’t help thinking that they are under the illusion that life means each day being amazing, fun and fulfilling. But is it realistic for us all to be happy and fulfilled all of the time? I very much doubt it!! If the bell curve is anything to go by, only between 1 and 5% of us can only be blissfully happy at the one time. So why does it seem like we’re all striving to do something else or be someone else.
When it comes down to it – all we’ve really got is today (even if it is a dull and boring one that looks like many others). The people we know and love and our attitudes towards them are the most important thing. A friend of mine lost her mother today. Her grief was very real and poignant and brought tears to my eyes. How my day was going seemed unimportant all of a sudden. It didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of life.
Relationships we have invested in are the thing that can make the everyday – even the mediocre ones – worthwhile and extraordinary. Relationships are fundamental to human experience and if we invest some more time into them instead of the day-to-day rat race, we may indeed find true contentment and fulfillment. Jesus came that we may have life to the full. Maybe if we took time to get to know the people in our world a little better, we’ll find our happy days.