subject: What Is The Weight Of Joy Or Grief? [print this page] This is a world of measures, a world where most things have substance. Most things can be quantified by some measurement, like truck weighing scales, a gram scale, a measuring tape, a report card, a pressure gage, a barometer or some other form of calculation. We live in a world consumed with taking measure. Success is measured by income, or twitter followers, or popularity, or number of letters after the name, or size of office, or neighborhood. It is difficulat to move through life without some form of measurement.
In the journey of life with career and family, progress is often measured in numbers. It could be the number in our bank account, the number of bedrooms in the house, the number of children, promotions, vacations, cars etc. There are some benefits in being able to take measure and know that in the game of life we are meeting the challenges. But the real experience of living is in all the things that can't be measured.
How do you weigh the pleasure from the scent of a gardenia on a cool summer evening? How do you measure a lovers embrace? How do you calculate the joy in the sound of little feet running down the hall? How do you measure the taste of a perfectly ripe and juicy peach? How do you measure the sound of children giggling in the surf? How do you measure the smell of hamburgers on a grill? How do you qualify the birth of a child? How do you measure cool water after a desert hike, a full moon sparkling off a canyon river, the call of a wren, or the song of a whale?
How do you weight a failed relationship? What does the pain from stillbirth weigh? How heavy is the shame of being laid off. What is the length of stress? How many tears does it take to grieve the loss of a spouse? What is the radius of Alzheimer's? How much does sexual abuse cost in the long run? What is the cost of murder? What is the measure of addiction? Does divorce have a square root?
The experience of life can not be measured. The measure of a life well lived can not be calculated in dollars, children, degrees of higher learning, or accomplishments in career. Success, as determined by social norms means little at the end of a life. People who have had great success have ended in suicide and misery. The real value of life isn't even in the number of good deeds, or great friend's one has. Many people have devoted their life to charitable works with heavy miserable hearts. It is the experience of being completely present to all life offers and in integrity with ones self that brings value on the journey of life.
by: Connor Sullivan
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