All work and no play

Over the last 2+ years, I've exchanged daily greetings with the neighbor across the street from church. Our short conversations are often shouted from the sidewalk on my side to his open garage on the other where he builds canoes - one after another. Normally, he teases me about the odd hours I spend at church and I rib him about the obscene amount of time one man can spend in his garage. When I'm leaving the office after dark, he'll yell across to ask if I'd like to borrow a sleeping bag. He often comes home between appointments as an insurance agent and works on the canoe in his suit and tie - even for just a few minutes. When I comment about whether it's wise to purchase insurance products from a guy with sawdust on his shoes, he laughs - then shows up again a few hours later. He doesn't neglect his work but he will do almost anything to make his true passion a priority.

Today as I was leaving church to go home, I admired the neighbor's craftsmanship from afar. For months he's been building an extra-long canoe out of a 35-year old redwood picnic table his mother wanted to discard. "It's done!" he crowed, "Come over and take a look!" The finished product was so beautiful, I couldn't take my eyes or my hands off of the smooth, gleaming redwood. My neighbor, too, was beaming and brimming with plans for a first voyage. What fun!

Who can argue with a strong work ethic? I love my job and work hard at it - sometimes this demands long, odd hours. What I learn from my neighbor is to foster an equally strong play ethic - to make more room in my life for the kinds of people and things that feed and sustain a sense of joy and fun. Time I would carefully guard and treasure. Things I'd run home for at lunchtime.

What's your true passion? Even if you are lucky enough to love your work, what other things bring you life and joy?