Psychologists tell us that most of us live two lives.
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The first life is where we chase success – material and otherwise, believing that riches, fame, status, attention will bring us happiness.
Then something like divorce, disease, death, drugs or other disaster brings dissolution to such beliefs. This is hard. Some people just give up at this point, and chase simple pleasure – the clichéd mid-life crisis.
But many begin the second life. Now people seek spiritual, relational, emotional, familial, or environmental connection to satisfy that inner emptiness. They leave the corporate world, take time to parent. They move from a commercial to a caring career. Or they simply change how they work.
What’s sad is that society is based on the first life, and not so understanding of the second, even though it brings much greater contentment.
Paul Clark’s musings can be heard on radio across Australia and at atthetop.org.au.
