Global Balance

We men have a bit of an odd situation in the present world. On the one hand, we are told that things are becoming more competitive in America and that jobs are going overseas to young, eager, ambitious workers in India and China, and that our children will have it tougher and we better fix social security because, if we don't, our children's children will have major, catastrophic problems. And all along, housing prices are going up and the minimum wage stays flat and our public schools fall into a state of disrepair resembling the Jornada del Muerto Trail after the dropping of the first atomic bomb.

All this, and we're supposed to feel a connection to our work (and hopefully like it) and enjoy a good quality of life. But I have to tell you something. I was at dinner tonight with two hard working immigrants: probably the nicest people you will ever meet. And I was thinking about how hard they work, and what they believe in. And I thought about Ben, my son, and how I wish I could spend more time with him, but there is absolutely no way that I can do this all and still have time with him. It's just not possible.

And so, we men are stuck in a double-blind. Whether or not you have a family, you need to strike a balance between your personal life and your business life; without it, you are a 1-dimensional, obsessive. But our society makes it very hard to strike the balance. Our capatalist system has become so WIN WIN WIN that we've lost track of the more important thing. Work was always something that our ancestors did so they could LIVE. Cavemen went out on hunts so they could feed the clan and draw pictures on walls -- no more. Work has become an obsession. My question is: have we become a nation of over-workers scared of losing our jobs when in fact we're losing our lives?