It's been a few weeks

I realized the other day that it had been a few weeks since the last time I posted on here, so I thought I'd hop on here and put up a post.

The week and a half from April 17th until April 27th was probably one of the most fun week and a halfs (can I say "week and a halfs"?) I've ever had. During those 10 days, I had the opportunity and ability to travel to a few different cities and focus pretty much all of my time and energy on spending time with friends. I want to write down all of the awesome things I got to do and all of the wonderful people I got to spend time with, but it would probably take me too long. If you're reading this and I spent time with you in Dayton, Indy, Cincy, or anywhere in between, know that I consider the time I shared with you to be an incredible gift. I'd also like to thank all the people who stretched out some form of generosity or hospitality, without which my little trip wouldn't have been possible; THANK YOU.

Now that I've returned back home and have returned to the commonality of daily life, I'm left with a couple of questions: why was this trip so life-giving and joyful, and why can't everyday be like those ten days were?

Well, I think part of the reason everyday can't be like those ten days is because it cost money to do a lot of the things I did, and during those ten days, I didn't do anything to earn that money. It was all money I had saved up. Furthermore, ten days of traveling around and hanging out with friends is pretty wonderful, but any more than that would probably get old. We all need a sense of purpose and a point to our lives. We need a sense of accomplishment, that we are doing something of value and something worthwhile. I imagine this is the hardest part of being unemployed or of being a parent whose children have grown out of their need for them. And I think this was part of my struggle for my first couple months in Malawi. It's also what I'm beginning to face here without yet having found something towards which I can focus my gifts, talents, energies, and passions. But what do we do when it seems like there just aren't any opportunities for us to use those gifts, talents, energies, and passions? Hmm...I don't think I have answer to that just yet.

So what, then, made my ten day friend adventure so nourishing and fulfilling? Well, I think it had something to do with the fact that I was able to be 100% present wherever I was. I had nothing else on my mind except the people right next to me. I didn't have to worry about an assignment or some project, some lesson plan or some schedule. The entire focus of my mind and spirit was on enjoying and appreciating the good and the beauty in the people I was with and in the places I was at.

I think this is something we often forget to do when we have important jobs and tasks to accomplish. We become so fixated on the things we accomplish, the rewards we earn, and the ways we succeed, that we run out of time or energy to simply appreciate the good and the beauty around us. I think our consumerist and materialist culture helps us in this process too. We're always looking for what's new or what's nicer, that it's sometimes hard for us to be content with what we have, to be at peace with what we have, or even better, to be genuinely happy with what we have. How much does that stink? And I'm just as much of a victim as the next person. I have to admit, I LOVE Express clothing. I think Express designs and sells incredibly attractive clothing that is comfortable to wear and compliments the way a person looks. For the past three weeks, Express has been sending me emails informing me of all kinds of deals on their clothes. There are currently about 5 different pieces on sale at Express.com that I want to purchase, and if I had it my way, I'd probably purchase multiple colors of each item. I don't really need them, but I want them, and because I want them, I'm finding it more difficult to be content with the clothes I have, even though I don't really need 3 more Fitted Stretch 1MX dress shirts of various colors. But our culture rewards and respects people who wear nice clothes. And I like that boost of confidence I get when I put on that nice-fitting shirt, a perfect color for the occasion, with my stylish jeans. So what's a guy to do? Where does that bring us?

Well, I think it brings us somewhere in the middle. Work is a good thing. We all yearn for a sense of purpose, and we all need the nourishment of accomplishment. But we shouldn't let our focus on purpose and accomplishment drown out our ability to be present with the people around us, to appreciate who they are, the gifts they have, the humor they carry, and the stories they share. And nice clothes are a nice thing. Wearing them encourages us, helps us feel confident about who we are, and, often, celebrates the beautiful form of our bodies. But we should be careful not to let ourselves get too focused on building up an expansive collection of nice clothes. Not only will we end up spending lots of money that could be used for other, more life-giving things, but we could fall into the trap of failing to be happy with what we have and neglecting to appreciate all the wonderful things around us that we don't have to buy.

Life is so good, and so is most of what is in it. I think we people are just a little bit addictive with things, so we have to remember to appreciate the good things for what they are without going so far as to neglecting all the other great things around us.