If you had the chance to ask an “Expert on Life” for advice,
what would you ask them? I am lucky
enough to have had that chance.
I’ve read that it takes 10,000 hour of doing something to
become an expert at it. I’m not sure if
that’s 100% accurate or not, but it’ll work for the sake of this blog. Anyway, if you calculate that out, 10,000
hours equals 250 weeks of working a 40 hour per week job. That means you can become an expert at your
job in five years while still taking two weeks per year for vacation. Not bad, huh?
Let’s put that into perspective. If you answer the phone for a customer
service job, you will have mastered all you need to handle standard and even
rare issues. Sounds pretty accurate, accepting
a bit of flexibility for product changes, new technology, etc. If you fix computer systems, you can
definitely master it and become an expert in five years. But what about just plain living?
Life is a dynamic, ever-changing thing. As we grow, our world around us changes and
we experience new situations all the time.
So, how long does it take to become an expert at life? I know personally that I’m not an expert at
40 years old. But what about 50? Or 60?
How about 85 years?
A few months ago, two of our daughters started taking art
lessons from one of the sweetest people to ever walk the planet. She goes by Miss Esther, and she is an amazing
woman. She charges barely anything for a
two hour lesson, and I know that during that time, her eight and ten year old
students will be exposed to stories about her life, lessons about treating
others in a Christian way, and of course a long list of artistic techniques,
from facial symmetry when drawing portraits to making a flower out of a Spirograph
drawing.
During lunch, I let her know the 10,000 hour statistic. I said that, as someone who was born before
the great depression and lived through every event since 1928, I consider her
to truly be an expert on life. I then
asked her something I always ask in a situation such as this. I asked, “After everything you have
experienced, do you have any advice for someone younger on how to enjoy life
and live right?” Miss Esther answered
immediately, as if she didn't even have to think.
“Be thankful for what you have. Be thankful for the air that fills your
lungs. Be thankful if you can get up and
walk across the room. Be thankful for
the people in your life and the things in your house. Be thankful that God cares about you and sent
His Son to die for you. Be thankful for
every day that you wake up and every single thing you have and you will always
be happy.”
Even if you are not a Christian, I think it is obvious that
this is really good advice. Today in
church we saw a picture of a house in Malawi, a country in Africa. The house did not have windows or a
door. I was talking to my kids about it,
and Miss Ether’s comments. In this
country, many of us don’t even realize how appreciative we should be that our
house has a door on it and windows, much less the pool in the yard or heating
and air conditioning. Or a car. Or a convenience store up the street. Or vaccinations. The list goes on and on.
Miss Esther using the "air that fills her lungs" to blow out the candle on her cake! |
Thanks as always for reading. Please feel free to comment below, follow us and share. And stay tuned for a blog by Andrea about our mission statement, coming soon!
Twitter: @EngravingAmore
Great blog! Jerry & Andee--I think this message is powerful; especially for those of us "struggling" to see the light at the end of this Recessionary tunnel....b/c, truly, these are first world problems......and we still live well, certainly compared to others seeking basics: fresh water, any health care, etc....Thanks for writing this...great post.
ReplyDelete