Our 5 to 9 lives
It’s always either your personal life gets in the way of your work, or your work gets in the way of your personal life.
I used to be the first one to arrive and the last one to leave work. I didn”t mind staying late to finish things up, or doing work at home. But lately it’s been a whirlwind. So many things are happening all at the same time, and it’s all good. So many after-work drinks and lunches with friends or professional networks have been set that I sometimes need to step out at 12nn or 5pm on the dot. While that used to make me feel guilty, the clock is a guide that tells you where and on what you should be spending your thoughts and time on.
Whether the reason being late or not being there at all is "I have a meeting" or "I have a baptism," or "I have a date," some commitments override others,espcially when work events require your weekend presence. But the little boy needs your weekend presence too.
One of the things never like hearing is "I’m too busy" or ‘I’m too tired." Contrary to Scott M. Peck’s mantra, I don’t believe that love is an effort. Because if you love something or someone,you can never be too busy or too tired, it just means that you have other priorities, and you choose to put your time and attention to those. I remember the surprise question my Theology teacher asked me in my junior year in highschool.I was looking out the window at that moment he asked "What is love?"
I casually blurted out, "Love is when you care about the other more than you care about yourself." Alvin’s head turned and his lips curled up.
Despite modern mantras to love yourself first or to leave some love for yourself, at its core, I think love is all about selflessness. No matter what you’re doing, if you love something - your job or your friend, despite having to spend cash or time on something you otherwise won’t if he/she/it didn’t ask you to, you would make it a priority.
We just have to be aware enough to realize when those shifts between our inclinations for work and for play (all the other aspects in our lives that we really want to do) happen and why. Then let’s get a grip and the courage to do something about it.
I say let’s all just work from 9 to 5, and play from 5 to 9.
