What’s your way of life?
This is not something I’ve consciously thought about… which is a bit scary!
I mean, there really are so many ways to live life- and I’ve just fallen in with everyone around me… without thinking it through.
If our way of life is usually unconscious, the question must be asked- what shapes the way I live?
(Alright. Now I’m giving it some thought).
1. Technology. That’s easy to see- advances in technology change our lives dramatically. Phones change the way we socialise. Screens change our idea of relaxation. Microwaves change our understanding of what waiting means.
2. Family upbringing. A lot of what I do is just a reflection of how my parents did things, eg. why do I buy that brand? Why do I raise my kids this way…?
3. Everyone around me. I naturally fall in with patterns of life of those around me. A new work environment has proved this. It take effort to be different.
4. Media messages. Why do I care about the environment or choose to eat a certain way? Often it comes down to the ‘flavour of the season’ or things I’ve heard experts say.
5. Cultural values. How much I should work, the kinds of jobs to aim for, my mode of transport, the clothes I wear…
6. Natural desires/feelings. Which are then tempered by my beliefs about how I should moderate these.
I like to think I’m free to live how I want, but all these things make me believe that there’s a limited scope of what’s an acceptable way to live.
In fact, I think I’m blind to the many other possibilities.
For example, I don’t even consider that I could go and live a nomadic lifestyle and own nothing but the clothes on my back. But, it’d be possible. And probably have some advantages!
Having considered all of this. Now its time to ask- is there a better way?
All this thinking stemmed from a verse I read today:
“So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life.” Leviticus 18:3
So my challenge is: identify one unhealthy/unhelpful way of doing things/thinking about things that I’ve picked up. And then to consider a way to adjust/replace this for a way of life that I’ve consciously chosen.
Anyone want to join me in this? Let me know how it goes!