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Seeing Things Differently Now

CHASING THE WIND

by Mike Robinson


I read recently about a guy who was into chasing the wind. Can you imagine that? Someone actually trying to chase, catch and capture the wind. It's enough to make you question his sanity, isn't it?

Well, to be honest, the fellow I refer to wasn't literally chasing the wind. He was just a frenzy of activity and frustration. He was a driven man with a passion for achievement.

His problem was that he was driven by the energy of envy.....envy of his neighbour. Seems he was burning himself out "trying to keep up with Joneses", as we say.

A further tragedy is that there was no end to his work. No matter how many hours he worked, he was never finished. There was always something more to be done or achieved.

The book said that his eyes were not content with his wealth. For him, like a lot of people in our world, enough is always a little bit more. His eyes were bigger than his bank balance! Talk about your never-ending story!

But then - for a moment - he came to his senses and asked a question that a lot of people in our society could well ask of themselves. "For whom am I doing all this? And why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?" Good questions. Sensible questions. Life-changing questions.

Here's an interesting philosophy from the same book. "Better a handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil". It means that to have half as much and be at peace is far better than having twice as much and being burnt out.

The same book in which I read the above story - the Bible (Ecclesiastes 4) - also says that the love of money is the root of all evil and that to find contentment is the greatest gain or achievement of all. Can you relate to any of this?

The love of money can drive people to all kinds of extremes and, in the end, it is all fruitless. We brought nothing in to the world and we can take nothing out. You might as well try to chase, catch and capture the wind.

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