Work and Life Balance

In the Peace Column of the Catholic Weekly, the writer is surprised  on hearing about the young people of Korea. They have lost their desire to do big things and instead want to pursue (Small but Certain Happiness). A phrase that the young people have now made their own.  

As an expression of frustration waiting for the future: marriage, childbirth, and homes he is saddened since their hopes have been greatly curtailed. However, this pursuit of  small happinesses such as eating delicious food, drinking coffee, chatting and traveling is possibly a big step in the right direction.

The writer does see an overlapping with the teaching of the Little Flower, St. Teresa.  She died at the age of 24 but left us the message of the "small way to God" which  has given many comfort and peace. "I understood that every flower created by [God] is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would lose its springtide beauty, and the fields would no longer be enameled with lovely hues."

The search for 'small sure happinesses will continue— social class systems are not going to easily change. This has been the reality for some time. We  hear a lot  about well being, healing and YOLO, the acronym for "you only live once". This is not only true in Korea these post-neoliberalism values are spreading throughout the world and to all  age groups in society.

The phrase 'work-life balance' has been Koreanized with the first sylables of the phrase put into Korean script. We have similar trends in Japan, and Taiwan; similar to what is happening in parts of Europe.

One of the professors working in the field of  'Happiness' says:  Happiness is not in the degree but in the frequency that is important. He agrees we need to turn our attention to little happinesses in life which will make us much happier.

Carpe diem, which means to enjoy the present— to be true to this moment— is a word coming down from the Roman era. He quotes the words of Elizabeth Kubler Ross that God gave us a world where we can live a better life today, not tomorrow. She recalls the moments of play, people near death have enjoyed. "Do you remember riding a bike on a country road?" "Do you remember going to the beach?" No one says: "I would have been happy if I had just a little more money." She says: "(play) is the life force of all life ..." People know how to work, but they do not know how to exist." Teresa also said, "My God, you know that I have only time today here and now to love you."
 
Pope Francis emphasized in his Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete Et Exsultate (Rejoice and be Glad). "Holiness will grow in small gestures. Here is an example: a woman goes shopping, she meets a neighbour and they begin to speak, and the gossip starts. But she says in her heart: 'No, I will not speak badly of anyone.' This is a step forward in holiness" (#16).

Piling up small happinesses with small gestures— Carpe Diem recalls the path of happiness and sanctification. The problem is not knowledge but moving our feet to the practice of what we believe.