Time or Money!?

The budget has been good news in terms of putting a little more money in everyone's pocket. However, as an observer of real life for people with young families and horrendous expenses for house rentals, mortgages, creche costs.... the extra money will almost fall from pockets as people continue to race through each day at a crazy pace! The pace of life seems to be accelerating to a level that dawn is the starting block for the race and dusk the time to crash to a stop at the daily finish line! Where is the time to stop and notice the beauty of life in the people in our lives and the beauty of the world around us! What is the point of the race if we see nothing en route with each encounter with a person like a passing of the baton in a relay race!

I've been caught in moments of frustration and been the cause of frustration on occasions, but I'm fortunate that it is not the regular pattern of my life. Frustrations arise when we don't have time to make sense of experiences and be our best selves in the moment, or in the long term. Being the cause of frustration and knowing that being the case is OK to accept and deal with on occasion, but wearing and debilitating if occurring in the long term as relationships suffer as does one's own self-concept.

If given a choice, would you prefer an extra hour each day to enjoy time with family and/or friends or an extra 1000 euro a year for expenses or material goods? Do you have a choice? The cash factor is provided by the budget, but do the other aspects of life enable time for what matters to us most? Can the extra cash buy time for what matters? - perhaps it can!-or will it be gobbled up doing more of the same and feeling exhausted at the end of every day or week!

We are living in times when there are great educational and occupational opportunities for most. However, the pause button needs to be pressed to relief pressure and to check the direction of movement in life so that we don't crash into a space of least desire chasing opportunities, including ill health due to neglect of some form. Leisure is that pause space and the energy of the leisure space needs long laughs and long chats in good company and a good environment. So, before we get excited about money we need to be careful not to sell our soul space to a meaningless void! We only live once so let's do it well!

Cathy Burke
Catechist in the Lucan Partnership of Parishes