Returning to Texas last night from my trip to Ohio I felt tired. I still do. But- I have done such a good job of embracing the Michener quote that I am left wondering if I was working or playing…or both.
Maybe it is the idea that ‘play’ shouldn’t be tiring. I just spent a long weekend at a horse show with friends who work ‘regular’ jobs and I watched them having fun and working hard…so play is often tiring.
Or maybe it is the idea that work should be hard. Driving horses from Texas to Ohio for a customer wasn’t so much hard as it was just long. Spending time with my son and paying for my trip to the show was a bonus too.
I think my mind still fights for a traditional work schedule at times. A schedule that says; Monday-Friday from 8-5, vacation days, etc. Why? Why does my brain do this to me? Is it for the security of knowing the plan ahead?
But who really knows the plan? People think they do up until the car accident, the cancer diagnosis, the pregnancy test results or the innumerable other moments that redirect the plans we have for ourselves.
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”…(James 4:13-15)
Maybe it is enough to pursue excellence in what I can see at this moment. Maybe it is enough to live now as if I may not have tomorrow. Or as if I had many more tomorrows. Maybe if the line is blurry it is a good thing.
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Love what you said…Thank you for taking a stand and giving glory to God by sharing his word…
Hi Stacey, I have been following you for a very long time, altho this is the first time I have felt compelled to comment. Thoreau also has a verse I have tried my hardest to live by. It is this paraphrased ” The secret to a fufilling and rewarding life is for a man to love his work”. I have never read a truer statement. As a yacht captain for the last 35 years, I could not wait to get to work every day! I believe it is a very intelligent person who can figure out a way to get paid for doing what they love.Lines blurred? Possibly. Is that a good thing? This gal says you betcha! Keep up the great work with Jac, watching you has taught me so many training tools to use on my two paint yearlings!
AMEN
If we love our work, it can be as much fun as “play!”
Remember how Tom Sawyer charged his friends for the privilege of whitewashing the fence? 🙂
Play is what you WANT to do, while work is what you are (or feel) obligated to do. Which one is which can change over time, sometimes even day to day.
Amen! That’s a good verse!
Grace Kobilan Sent from my iPad
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To not be able to distinguish between work and play is a blessing, but I can understand why your mind still thinks a more structured lifestyle would be a blessing also. We should all pursue excellence in our craft; whether it be a job of our choice or a job that just pays the bills. And it’s true, no one really knows what tomorrow brings but we should live each day to the fullest and give back what we can to others. So that when the time comes we can stand tall and say that we gave it our very best and that’s all anyone can ask for. And even though I do not know you, Stacy, I believe that you do give your very best and you have given so much joy to others like myself that absolutely love your videos.
Love it!! Well said!!!
Your mind still fights for a traditional work schedule??? What I wouldn’t give to be able to work with horses for a living like you do, instead of having my other job five days a week doing something I don’t feel made for and not ending up with nearly enough time for my own horses during the limited amount of time I do have off….:(