I was at my doctor’s office a while back, just about the time they started removing the children’s toys from waiting rooms. Some kind of media led scare tactic in an attempt to reduce the spread of germs, I guess. I am sitting on the rock hard chair when my focus slipped from the 13 month old sports illustrated magazine to the noisy 13 month old child in the play area. I figured this little guy was waiting for his mom and he was playing with one of those hammer-peg sets with the red painted sides and the round colored blocks that kids love to hammer through the holes. Weird thing about it though, and what really drew my interest was that the peg this kid was trying to pound through the round top holes, was square. The peg looked just like the others, painted orange but oddly enough, it was square. I started to wonder if it belonged to another set or if some sick person had intentionally setup a queer intelligence test for little people. No matter though, it was starting to get interesting and I had to try hard not to laugh while I looked around the room to see who was responsible for this kid who was now beating the crap out of this toy. I was amazed by his stubbornness or maybe it was his tenacity. Again and again, this kid would grab the peg, line it up right over the hole and drop that hammer like he was drilling pipe. With every smash of the little pine hammer, a high pitched roar of contempt mixed with disgust would echo through the waiting room. This, I though, was much better than a 13 month old magazine.....
As entertaining as this kid was, I can’t help but wonder if we as humans occasionally do the same thing. I mean really, I have seen just as much frustration on the face of some of my friends at times as I saw in this peg pounding child. What if our lives were created like this wooden set with the round holes, and we are just trying to cram our idea of who we think we should be into where we are right now? Are we unhappy with our jobs, or do we constantly dream about what we should have done with our lives? All too often we take the easy route to a secure and safe lifestyle. We go to school for our parents, go for that easy money job, all the while thinking that we will be set as long as we have money. We get busy, life and kids and at the end of the day we think we’ll get started on that dream tomorrow.
The problem with tomorrow is that it is just that; tomorrow. We need to think about what we can do today, and how can we start to live that dream instead of just dreaming it. One sure way to start is to understand what it is you are passionate about. Are you passionate about some kind of vocation? Do you love to work with people? What do you do in your spare time that energizes you? I am not saying that your passion has to be your job, but what if it was? Pour your energy into the things you love, do it lots, and be patient. Eventually you will be doing something that you were created for. You will know because people will see your passion, you will be very good at it, and getting paid for it will just be a bonus.....
Relax, put down that square peg, and get started on what you were planning on doing tomorrow.
As entertaining as this kid was, I can’t help but wonder if we as humans occasionally do the same thing. I mean really, I have seen just as much frustration on the face of some of my friends at times as I saw in this peg pounding child. What if our lives were created like this wooden set with the round holes, and we are just trying to cram our idea of who we think we should be into where we are right now? Are we unhappy with our jobs, or do we constantly dream about what we should have done with our lives? All too often we take the easy route to a secure and safe lifestyle. We go to school for our parents, go for that easy money job, all the while thinking that we will be set as long as we have money. We get busy, life and kids and at the end of the day we think we’ll get started on that dream tomorrow.
The problem with tomorrow is that it is just that; tomorrow. We need to think about what we can do today, and how can we start to live that dream instead of just dreaming it. One sure way to start is to understand what it is you are passionate about. Are you passionate about some kind of vocation? Do you love to work with people? What do you do in your spare time that energizes you? I am not saying that your passion has to be your job, but what if it was? Pour your energy into the things you love, do it lots, and be patient. Eventually you will be doing something that you were created for. You will know because people will see your passion, you will be very good at it, and getting paid for it will just be a bonus.....
Relax, put down that square peg, and get started on what you were planning on doing tomorrow.
