Beyond Measure

Today's blog post is based on the section entitled "Why Time is Not Money" from the chapter on "Time" in Wayne Muller's "Sabbath".

Did you ever see the movie "Say Anything"? It's the last of the great 80s teen flicks. In it, John Cusack's character, Lloyd Dobbler, gives a memorable dinner table speech in response to a question posed to him by his love interest's father. Lloyd's response goes like this:

"I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that."

"Basically," Lloyd continues, "I just want to take care of your daughter, sir."

Lloyd Dobbler's admission would fit well into this section of Muller's book. Here, we are reminded that our modern tools for measuring worth do not take such ventures into account. Caring for those we love and tending to those in our communities, unless it is a job we are paid to do, has no way of being accounted when it comes to measuring a nation's riches. But, how poor would we be without our common care for one another. After all, there are a million ways to be rich; having money is just one of them.

How do we measure our kindness? Only in what our kindness produces -- which is love.