Life and Other Things

Sorry Steve. You're awesome, but I'm calling you out a bit here.

Maybe it's not the best idea to make arguing against something one of my bosses said the focal point of a blog post, but since I have pretty much the coolest bosses ever I'm banking on him getting the gist of what I'm saying and not focusing too much on me disagreeing with him publicly :)

On Monday I was at my internship and- wait, I haven't mentioned my internship, have I? As part of my degree requirements for seminary I have to do field training. Since I've worked in churches basically my whole life and already have a job at one outside of school, my field training is actually at a non-profit/caucus group of the United Methodist Church called the Methodist Federation for Social Action. I love, love, love it. I love the people, I love the work, I love the things we stand for and the things we do. It's amazing. So this quote needs to be in that context. Let's try that again.

On Monday I was at my internship and one of my bosses, Steve, made a comment about how he couldn't be working a project we're doing because he had to assess the state of the house he's trying to sell in upper New York. What he said was, "Yeah, that's life- it gets in the way of things sometimes."

That really bothered me. I think the heart of what he was saying agreed with what I'm about to argue here, but the way he said it just kinda made me say "Whoa! What's that about?!"

Life is not the little things that get in our way. It's not home repair or paying bills or unexpected hassle or work. Life is in the things that give you joy, the things that keep you getting out of bed every day, the visions for the future that keep you pushing back against the world, the things you are passionate about. It's the people you love and the time you spend loving what you do.

For Steve and all of my other lovely coworkers, the things we do at MFSA are what we are passionate about. They are what give us hope and courage. So, when Steve said that I think he really just got his nouns wrong. For so many people, though, I feel like they would've agreed with what he said at face value.

Man. Life just gets in the way sometimes, you know?

Gets in the way of what?! That's what I want to know.

No. Sometimes we let things get in the way of life. Sometimes we let things that don't matter, things that no one will care about or remember in 50 years, get in the way of the people and the time well spent that make our time on this earth matter.

I happen to love my schoolwork, my job, and my internship. I find fulfillment in all three, and often the things that I get to do as a part of my work are a big part of what gives my life meaning.  But truly, it is the people I love that make my life worthwhile. It is because I've been able to focus my work around people that I love my work, and it's for the people that I would drop anything. They don't get in the way of life, they are my life. Sometimes I let things that don't matter get in the way of them.

So let's all get our nouns straight, shall we? That project at work, that unexpected expense, that traffic jam, that super-important-item that you lost: that's not life. Being there for a friend, spending time with your family, laughing and crying together, making the world a better place: that's life. Don't let anything get in the way of it.