Beautiful and prosperous are not always the same

I listened to a podcast the other day while walking. It was a complex conversation about the times we're in. But after listening to it, I walked away with this simple question.

Is it possible to live a long life, yet, not live a beautiful life?

We spend a lot of our lives pursuing things that are easy to measure. Our money. Our job titles. How many cars we own. Our kids' grades. Our kids' college acceptance letters.

We get obsessed with measuring our age and how much longer we have to live...

In a world where we spend so much time reflecting on the measurables - and comparing our lives to the measurables of our neighbors, we don't often stop and pause and ask, even with everything I have, even if I somehow find a way to live forever, am I living a beautiful life?

The biggest challenge with that question is beauty is hard to measure. Rarely does it come with a dollar sign or a number. I think it's most often found in the dark of the night, alone with yourself and the question: does my life feel beautiful?

I think there are a lot of really old people out there, with a lot of money, who've lead by many measures prosperous lives. And my fear is, in the dark of the night, they discover they chased numbers at the expense of a beautiful life.

And I think there are a lot of really old people out there, who by many American Dream measures achieved little, but they served others well and wholly. And in the dark of the night, when they reflect on their lives, they go to sleep with a smile and the peace that comes with knowing - I wouldn't have changed a thing.

The thing is, if you're reading this, you're not really old yet. You still have time to go to sleep tonight, and in the dark, ask yourself: am I living a beautiful life.

I think one thing chasing a measurable life tricks us into believing is that we actually have any control over the things we're measuring. And what this Covid crisis has told us loud and clear is - it is indeed a trick. One deadly virus can wipe out our capacity to live, and to earn money, and to buy cars and houses, and send our kids to college and so many other things we get tricked into believing are the foundation of a beautiful life.

And what Covid may have also revealed in exposing the trick - chasing all of these measurables in life has left little room in our hearts for seeking the beautiful.

All around me, I see people helping people in ways they never have before. People helping other people has been recognized with a beauty it's never been recognized with before. It's like, serving others suddenly IS the American Dream. And my guess is, all around me, people are feeling a beauty in life they'd been tricked into believing wasn't possible.

The question is, in the dark of the night, as we heal our way into a new day, as we fight our way back to "normal," are we longing for an end to this crisis that is prosperous - or beautiful.

Because time and time again we are being reminded - they are not necessarily one in the same.