I went to the bookstore today because I think it’s just such a great place to go and relax. Plus with all the sickness going around the house, I figured a good book could always help. Again, much like last week, I got into a conversation with one of the employees that just fascinated me. Brent is one of the older guys at this branch and seemed to know a ton about books. I didn’t know exactly what I went in to look for, but I just knew that I wanted something new. Brent walked me through several authors before I finally landed on one and picked up a couple of new books to read.
Once I had finally made my selection, I just made the comment that it must be a slow day if he was willing to spend that much time with me. He then told me how swamped they were and how he would probably be working late that night with all the restocking. I then had to ask him why he spent so much time with me when there was so much work to be done. He just told me that it was because in the midst of all the work that had to be done, people were still the most important. The jobs in his past had always provided some meaningful tasks, but never the fulfilling relationships that development once the tasks became secondary.
I’m sure he was talking on more of a business side, but I didn’t hear it that way.
I forget that in the midst of my schedules, that if I were the only person on the planet, which is how I live my life sometimes, then this would be a terribly boring place.
Case and point, a good friend called me tonight completely out of the blue. Sure, I was in the middle of something I probably thought was important then, but as we talked, I just realized how much more important that time was. We were on the phone almost 45 minutes before I even realized that much time had passed. We talked through a few deep issues, prayed, and then hung up. I don’t even remember what I was doing before. It obviously wasn’t extremely important.
I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m beginning to realize how valuable people are. Everything in our culture is pushing people to isolation and away from anything of meaning. We go to work. Come home. Watch our tv shows. And maybe a few extra things are worked in there from time to time, but not often. I know not everyone can be unemployed and have all this time on their hands, but it’s a lot easier to isolate by staying at home all day than at work.
It’s easy to see the importance of people when we lessen our own value from time to time. This world would be a whole let less exciting if it actually did revolve around me. I need other people in my life, not in a codependent sort of way, but in a meaningful, in depth, relational way. No paycheck or successful task completion can outlast the value of finding meaning in others. After all, people are important to our lives…
