Quite a few years ago I remember reading a poem that has stuck with me. I don’t remember the specific wording, but I can paraphrase:
First, I was dying to finish school, get a job, live on my own.
Then, I was dying to get married.
Then I was dying to have kids.
Then I was dying for the kids to grow up and move out so I could enjoy the empty nest.
Then I was dying to retire.
Then I realized I was dying, and I had never really lived.
I had a conversation last night with a woman in her first year of marriage. We chatted about the human tendency to long for “the next best thing” – whatever that may be. I’m struck by how often I do this in my own life, rather than cultivating an attitude of contentment and living in the present. I wonder about the tension between healthy discontent (I do think there is a place for this) and enjoying the present...
1 comment:
That is a powerful quote, Jen! I do the same thing. In fact, I was doing it this very morning - wanting just to get through to the performances of the musical and finish it up. That just wished away a month of my life! My Gram would be so disappointed...
A healthy discontentment is a sign of life. I actually like living there. It means the Spirit is working, and it makes me look at every moment as an opportunity.
So I think you have a "both/and" in the tension between healthy discontentment and living in your own life.
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