To pick up on the last post’s theme…
By next year, all of my children will be launched into their own lives. My wife and I are entering winter.
But, our winter has come in the midst of turbulent seas. Our season of rest will not be like Thoreau sitting at Walden Pond and pondering the meaning of life. It will be more like surfing. I have to decide where I want to go and how to get there while the surface of the water under my feet is constantly and quickly changing.
When I was still a relatively new convert to Christianity, I learned a very important principle: we should reason from the whole to the part.
When I am deciding what direction my life should take, I must first consider the following:
What is happening in the world around me?
What is happening in my country?
What is happening in my state or city?
What is happening in my life?
Just last year, millions of people’s plans for retirement were suddenly and radically altered by the collapse of the stock and credit markets. What was happening in the world economy had a direct effect on individual, personal plans.
Their change of plans will have a direct impact on others whom they have never met. Jobs that would have been left vacant for new workers to fill will now have two people vying for them.
Change is in the air but so is generational and ideological conflict.
It seems that the world’s dictators are growing in strength and confidence every day. My nation’s elected leaders continue to spend money that we simply do not have. What will happen to our currency? Will it become worthless? If it does, what will I do?
What will life look like when spring arrives? What role am I being fashioned for? What part am I going to play? What is my next step?
I’m glad that I am not busy. I am glad that I have time…
