Thursday, July 23, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Chasing the Wind
How do you spend your time? Does work consume you? How about the care of your family? Are you obsessed with a certain sport or a particular team? Are you driven to succeed so that you can have all you want? A good friend once told me that her view of life was, “He who dies with the most toys, wins.”
Michael Jackson died with a whole bunch of toys. The media seems to be obsessed with his death. Didn’t we know this was coming? Couldn’t someone have predicted this? All of his considerable genius in music came at a dear cost. Michael’s childhood was taken away from him. He never had a chance at normalcy. His life was thrust in front of the camera and he became a commodity rather than a human being. This abnormal life with all of its perks led to an abnormal death. Why do so many people who “have everything” wind up destroying themselves with addictions?
The author of Ecclesiastes may have the answer. This person was extremely successful. If he wanted something he went out and got it. This person had wealth and power. After wrestling with himself and with God, do you know what he wrote? Life is meaningless, chasing the wind.
When I was a child, I loved spending time outdoors, chasing the wind. Running with no place in particular to run; rolling down the hills just to see how fast I could go; climbing the apple tree in my yard to eat a few apples just because they were there. All of this taught me that the best things in life are free. Oh, how I wish Michael could have run and rolled, and climbed with me.
The truth is, “He who dies with the most toys, still dies.” The happiest people that I know are people who know they are at the end of their lives…who have little but enjoy much…who know that the best things in life (relationships, love, nature, and God) are free.
Michael Jackson died with a whole bunch of toys. The media seems to be obsessed with his death. Didn’t we know this was coming? Couldn’t someone have predicted this? All of his considerable genius in music came at a dear cost. Michael’s childhood was taken away from him. He never had a chance at normalcy. His life was thrust in front of the camera and he became a commodity rather than a human being. This abnormal life with all of its perks led to an abnormal death. Why do so many people who “have everything” wind up destroying themselves with addictions?
The author of Ecclesiastes may have the answer. This person was extremely successful. If he wanted something he went out and got it. This person had wealth and power. After wrestling with himself and with God, do you know what he wrote? Life is meaningless, chasing the wind.
When I was a child, I loved spending time outdoors, chasing the wind. Running with no place in particular to run; rolling down the hills just to see how fast I could go; climbing the apple tree in my yard to eat a few apples just because they were there. All of this taught me that the best things in life are free. Oh, how I wish Michael could have run and rolled, and climbed with me.
The truth is, “He who dies with the most toys, still dies.” The happiest people that I know are people who know they are at the end of their lives…who have little but enjoy much…who know that the best things in life (relationships, love, nature, and God) are free.
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