Work

I have been considering again lately that little cliche about how some people live to work, and some people work to live.

It is important to me that I have my own personal time, apart from work, to relax and stay healthy, spend time in prayer, time with loved ones. But I feel very counter-culture in this effort--that there's an expectation that people should be skipping lunch breaks and staying late and commuting long hours to work. And that being too busy to take vacation means that you've got the right amount of work.

I very much like the idea of a Sabbath, in the face of all this. Time that is dedicated, for God's sake and our own, to something other than work. (Or even running errands and cleaning the house.) Time spent, as some Jewish traditions suggest, in enjoying the promised joyful future ahead of time. It seems so beautiful to me, but why is it so hard to actually do?

Oh well. Back to work.