Honoring Worth

Today's blog post is based on the section "A Deeper Wealth" from the chapter on "Time" in Wayne Muller's book "Sabbath".

"Be sure they pay you what you're worth." Have you ever received that advice. I have. And the truth is, that's a statement of privilege. Only a minute percentage of people can make such demands. And even then, even when people are paid "what they're worth" they aren't really. Even the wealthiest person in the world is worth more that their net worth.

If we had to simply do the math, and determine each person's worth according to their pay check, the truth would be this -- most people in this world are not paid what they're worth in the least. Moreover, we've tended to organize our pay scales in a bizarre fashion, paying entertainers, athletes, and CEOs exponentially more than those who teach our children, feed the hungry, care for the land and tend to the infirm.

Regardless of how much money you make, though, the truth is this: we are worth far more than our pay stubs reflect. We must remind each other of this because, in our culture, where success, self-worth and self-esteem often have a direct tie to our status in the working world, we often end up feeling less than. Maybe this is the greatest gift Sabbath gives us. Muller states, "during Sabbath, we specifically honor those precious things -- courage, creativity, wisdom, peace, kindness and delight." It is "only in the soil of time" that these things grow. Only when we honor Sabbath time are we able to see richness all around us.