People of a certain age begin asking questions about what their lives have amounted to. As we get older, the question often becomes more urgent. What have we done with out lives? What is our worth? It;s a complex question and I can only share some random thoughts.
First of all, ordinary things count. We have survived. We have managed the daily tasks of living each day…never of course, alone. Others have been there in one way or another. Most of us have contributed to the survival of others. We have supported and nurtured life. We have mattered.
We have all had family, friendship, and community connections of one kind or another. We have loved,sometimes faithfully and closely or deeply and intensely. Sometimes, not wisely or well, Sometimes we have experienced the joy of commitment or weathered the sorrow of betrayal. We have celebrated and mourned the loss of those we love and held close to our hearts those with us. That all counts for something.
I suspect though, that often when we ask this question we are looking at more material success. We are comparing ourselves to some outside standard or expectation. We are driven by some inner force.
We sometimes measure others and thereby ourselves by how much money they have, the positions of power or success they or their children have attained, the contributions they or their children have made to society, the successful job of parenting they have done, the work their hands have wrought, their beauty or artistic accomplishments. Important as these things are and seem to be, they are not ultimate.
We could also think of worth in terms of a person’s moral rightness, the compassion they have shown, the passion with which they have pursued justice, the degree to which they have side-stepped temptation and it effects on themselves or others. Maybe worth can be measured in the addictions we have overcome and the obstacles we have conquered. All this is of vital importance.
The fact is, that the question of what our lives are or have amounted to, on the face of it, has many possible answers and no answer, though, of course, we can’t help asking. And, in asking the question,
and if, in seeking an answer, we begin to tell our story, honestly and gently, the question begins to bear fruit.
There is a sentence in a Harry Emerson Fosdick prayer that says, “O thou Light that lighteth every one coming into the world, shine in us now that we may see ourselves as we might be at our best.” I think that “our best” is always deep within us whatever our external circumstance.
We are all called to simply pay attention to what we do with what we are given,Sometimes we fly high. Sometimes we have not made good choices, lived up to our potential, or recognized the love that is in us and with us. Sometimes our hearts have been full of gratitude and sometimes burdened by despair. We do the best we can.
In the beginning as in the end, worth is inherent in being. It is really quite simple. If we can recognize worth in ourselves then maybe we can see it in others and that is enough. Worth does not need to be achieved. It does need to be honored. Karen Armstrong, professor of religion and prolific author says that in the last analysis, all religions embrace some version of the Golden Rule, “Do to others what you want them to do to you.”
No one gets through life living up to that standard. Some lives are so shaped by tragedy that recovery is hard. We all need the forgiveness and grace, which help us accept our worth and recognize it in others, in our complex, amazing,imperfect, unfinished lives and world.
When we ask what we have amounted to, even if there is no one answer, there is always more to add to our Hopefully, belief in our own value and in the value of others, can permeate our lives.