"It takes a certain amount of effort to be miserable and another kind of effort to be happy, and I was willing to do the work of happiness." - Ann Patchett, Truth and Beauty
I found the above quote on this blog last week and it has come to mind many times since that first reading. I am a strong advocate for practicing the disciplines, spiritual and otherwise, that keep me on the straight and narrow; gratefulness, humility, grace, humor. But it is work. And it takes effort. No good thing comes from giving into my inner slacker, which feels like my default.
I love the hard work of hospitality. My life is full of happiness in large part to the friends who gather to eat and drink at my house. No big production. Nothing fancy. Something simple and abundant to eat, enough wine to usher our conversation along, usually lots of laughter, and companionship. But there is effort involved and the hard work of washing all those wine glasses after a late night can challenge the most enthusiastic of hosts. It can be stressful. It is not as easy as an evening eating my meal out of a bowl while sitting on the couch watching TV. It is messy. But it is the richness of life. The expense of time and effort are returned to me in untold satisfaction and joy.
Well put all around. Good for you that you're continuing to fight your default mode, but don't berate yourself too much that that is your default mode. You're in good company with many inner slackers. We can all encourage each other to continue fighting together. I guess that's a large part of what the body of Christ is about.
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