"I have come that you may have life and have it to the full." – John 10:10
"I'm counting the days until I retire," a caregiver told me years ago.
"How soon will that be?" I asked
"Nine years and thirty-four days," she answered.
This nurse felt that until retirment's door was opened, she couldn't enter the lovely meadow of her life. Imagine regretting every day of work for more than nine years.
We've all heard people speak like this. Trapped in jobs they hate, they dread every work-day. Mondays are nightmares. Friday's are all too rare.
When retirement arrives, these folks often don't know what to do. "Free" to choose, they find they have lived as prisoners of structure for so long that they can't do without it.
John O'Donohue wrote that "The shortest distance in the world is the one between you and yourself." This may be true physically. It is often untrue spiritually.
Consider what happens in this small space within each of us?
If we are doing one thing and dreaming another, the distance between our work life and our heart's passion can be enormous – and agonizing.
An old friend, now in his sixties, wrote me that he is "finally doing what I love." Born well off, he nevertheless felt he had to sell insurance instead of dedicating himself to his dream: to be an outdoorsman. If he had died a couple years ago, he would never have experienced his fondest desire.
Too often, we split ourselves so far from our dreams that we can no longer see what they are…or were. We crush our heart's best energy by squeezing ourselves into a work attitude that traps us from living life "to the full."
The reading of the verse from John, above, won't change anyone's mind by itself. Living life in a way that is meaningful requires that we look at our brief visit to earth in an entirely new way.
It is hard to admit that I write these words to myself as much as I do to you. I regret every day that I have lived in fear rather than in love. Regret, however, taints life rather than enriches it.
The best life choice for each of us is to revel in the work we do – to choose something we find meaningful (even if it pays less money) and live our passion.
If you are one of those who lives in the half-light, how much longer will you squander your days? Why blame others for our choices. Each of us can choose how we feel.
Can we, with courage and reflection, rediscover the energy that resonates with our innermost longings? Or will we remain timid, our life's best gifts left unwrapped to the end of our lives?
Jesus opened the door to a full life for all who choose to walk through it. What are we waiting for?
-Rev. Erie Chapman
Journal of Sacred Work 
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