As a college student, I spent a few years working at an artificial flower company during the summers. I saw that the flowers were being shipped into the United States from other locations. As they arrived into the warehouse, they’d be sorted, glued, and assembled into beautiful arrangements. Some of them were sorted, marked, and sold to dozens of big chain outlets. These would be comparable to the Walmart’s, Target’s, and Hobby Lobby’s of today.
It was a hot factory where people were thankful to have jobs. In the morning when I arrived, I punched into the company in that area of the building. I got to meet many hard working and lovely people. Already temperatures were soaring and hot at 7:30 in the morning. Do you work in a factory? What are the conditions of where you earn your living? Are the people pleasant or resentful and negative?
Each summer I worked there I had a different job in the offices. Creating billing, typing manifests, following up on orders, and working on an International Switchboard. I learned a lot there and grew. Jobs create opportunities for our mental well being and tech us to be relational. We don’t always make a monetary gain, but hopefully we benefit ourselves and other people. For me, it helped me pay for the next semester at school.
If you are in business, a wife working at home, or a student, chances are you are far from being self centered. We learn along the way that we are to live for others. Our happiness comes from doing things for other people and serving in our communities. And when we put ourselves in the shoes of others, we become more compassionate.
Lent is around the corner and a time to be more self sacrificing. It is a time to do more outside our comfort zone and to learn from our mistakes. May your flower arrangements become those of the living kind. Present bouquets of kindness during the next 40 days. It may mean keeping silent with criticisms. Or reaching out to those less fortunate even though you don’t want to do so.
Maybe it is time to take a personal inventory of what you are doing habitually. I hope to indulge less in the things I am tempted to do, like drinking diet coke or taking the car instead of walking.
Whatever you do decide, “Delight in Living” and share that with others.