Written by Father Michael
SO WHAT’S WRONG WITH BOXES? I LOVE BOXES. ~ Pandora
Well I do not have Pandora’s love of boxes, although the storage boxes in the attic may indicate otherwise. It does seem like I opened in my own head many boxes the last few weeks. During this period I kept remembering Richard Bolles’ book, The Three Boxes of Life. I read the book over twenty-five years ago and used it for a confirmation seminar then. It is amazing how the mind can reshape things. Bolles three boxes of life are: Education, Work, and Retirement. His premise is that we divide these up into separate boxes and find no integration. He proposes to find a balance between them and that will give us more peace.
He wrote this book about forty years ago and it seems it was prophetic. The secure job for a lifetime really does not exist. Most jobs are temporary. The economy and technology change so fast that we also need to change. Retirement also does not mean retirement but maybe semi-retirement.
Over the years probably because of my changes I remembered the book different. The three boxes became associated with the need to respect oneself. Joy and happiness comes from love of God and doing what God asks us to do. God gave us the Golden Rule: To love God above all else and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
So it seems if we are to do as God ask us to love like God loves, to love our neighbor we need to learn to love ourselves. Someone told me that their mother told them it was wrong to love oneself. We get mixed up sometimes with the word love. Love is not selfish and that is probably what his mother was referring. Love is a healthy respect. It is taking care of ourselves mentally, physically, and most importantly spiritually. These are the boxes I see. There are others, such as, family, job, and self. As Pandora says I love boxes and can think of many. But let’s stick with those I associate with the Golden Rule.
We cannot control or change others. We can control and change ourselves. We cannot love others without loving ourselves. If we do not respect, take care of, love ourselves the only thing we have to give others is our own frustration, tiredness, emptiness.
God gave us a great mind how do we use it? Do we take time to stimulate our mind? What have I learned today? Was it something about God, or about your golf game, or a new recipe or food to try? A new place to travel and maybe serve?
Physically, did I get enough rest today? Did I exercise? What did I eat? How did I eat it, in a car, alone, at a table, with family or friends? Do I know how to say “no” and admit I am not a super man or woman and I do not have to be to be loved by God.
When am I with God? Have we taken a clue from Jesus in all the above? I said many times in my retirement I am going to comb the Gospels to see how many times Jesus went off by himself, to pray, to rest, to get away from his disciples and the crowds. Jesus needed time to recharge his batteries and to listen to His Father wishes, not his own, not the peoples but His Father’s wishes.
Time to get my boxes in order for today. Because tomorrow comes too soon. And it starts all over.