A few years ago, when my best friend of over twenty years met my new husband, she asked,
"So, does she still re-evaluate her entire life every day?"
My husband laughed and said,
"At least, sometimes two or three times a day."
Today, I read an article by Alexander Astin where he discussed the change in attitude of college freshmen from the 1970s to the present. He said that, while, in the 1970s, the goal of most college students was to develop a meaningful philosophy of life, that the current generation of college students is far more likely to give their motivation for college as "To make a great deal of money."
I have never understood that motivation. Don't get me wrong, I am not living in a mud hut and going hungry. Still, the attitude that whoever has the most stuff has the better life is one that has always confused me.
Regularly, I go through my house and throw things out. The photo above is the "before" picture of my third daughter's trophies. Today, she threw a lot of them in the dumpster. She said,
"What matters isn't something somebody gave me. What matters is the training and that I was the best at that tournament at that time."
Yes, I was one of those college students in the 1970s, and I do think a meaningful philosophy of life is more important than making a whole lot of money. Figuring out what is important in life matters more than having more toys than the neighbors.
If what matters to you is understanding life, determining what you value, and you spend a lot of thought and effort over the years, I don't think you will come to the conclusion that,
"What is really important to me is having a new SUV. In fact, I think I will lie on my timesheet, take home equipment from work and put my three kids on the payroll so I have enough money to get it. Yeah, that's the true meaning of life, a shiny red SUV. "
Maybe if, as Astin recommends, we put more effort into our "interior" life than our exterior of what we own and what we wear, we would lead more meaningful, ethical lives.
As my husband and friend can attest, I am still working on the real meaning of life. Once I have it down, I'll post it here.
"So, does she still re-evaluate her entire life every day?"
My husband laughed and said,
"At least, sometimes two or three times a day."
Today, I read an article by Alexander Astin where he discussed the change in attitude of college freshmen from the 1970s to the present. He said that, while, in the 1970s, the goal of most college students was to develop a meaningful philosophy of life, that the current generation of college students is far more likely to give their motivation for college as "To make a great deal of money."
I have never understood that motivation. Don't get me wrong, I am not living in a mud hut and going hungry. Still, the attitude that whoever has the most stuff has the better life is one that has always confused me.
Regularly, I go through my house and throw things out. The photo above is the "before" picture of my third daughter's trophies. Today, she threw a lot of them in the dumpster. She said,
"What matters isn't something somebody gave me. What matters is the training and that I was the best at that tournament at that time."
Yes, I was one of those college students in the 1970s, and I do think a meaningful philosophy of life is more important than making a whole lot of money. Figuring out what is important in life matters more than having more toys than the neighbors.
If what matters to you is understanding life, determining what you value, and you spend a lot of thought and effort over the years, I don't think you will come to the conclusion that,
"What is really important to me is having a new SUV. In fact, I think I will lie on my timesheet, take home equipment from work and put my three kids on the payroll so I have enough money to get it. Yeah, that's the true meaning of life, a shiny red SUV. "
Maybe if, as Astin recommends, we put more effort into our "interior" life than our exterior of what we own and what we wear, we would lead more meaningful, ethical lives.
As my husband and friend can attest, I am still working on the real meaning of life. Once I have it down, I'll post it here.
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