According to the book Things That Matter: Overcoming Distraction to Pursue a More Meaningful Life, 40% of the time people call out from work, they are faking it. Last Friday, I was among the honest 60% who called out to care for my sick daughter. I was ordered to lay by her side and not to turn on the TV. As I listened to the quiet snores of my otherwise affable daughter, I devoured this book at just the right time.
I’ll begin by saying I absolutely love Joshua Becker. I began watching his YouTube videos during quarantine. During that time so many people were cleaning out their homes of unnecessary stuff. I, too, began doing the same. As someone who has lived much of my adult life in apartments and smaller homes, I do have a natural proclivity for smaller spaces. I’ve moved several times and with this comes an expert eye of one with discernment for quality over quantity. Joshua Becker’s soothing voice on his short videos encourage others to live a life with minimal possessions. He’s a person of faith and his non-preachy style appealed to me.
In Things That Matter, he points out the different ways we can become distracted from living our lives in a more meaningful way. Whether it’s our preconceived notions of the value of an abundance of possessions, the time suck of social media and its ability to force comparisons to others, to finding the value in truly meaningful work, the messages are clear: More is not always better.
I share this as we are heading into the holiday season. We’ll be distracted by the onslaught of TV ads and Black Friday sales, and the sometimes forced merriment of having more for this and for them and at what costs? Don’t misunderstand me: I love having stuff. But it’s not our stuff that defines us. The more we have never equates to being happier. As we near the end of our lives, the sign of a life well-lived will not be measured by our knick-knacks and heirlooms but in the way in which we made others feel and the personal impacts we’ve made in our communities.
What do you think? Please consider leaving a comment here. Wishing you all a great week ahead!
The Midlife 
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