A Lesson Learned From Poorly Written Literature

One of my many joys in having "down time" is getting to take scores of books out of the library. I love being able to (literally) judge a book by its cover. I pick up a book from the shelves, glance at the cover and inside sleeve, and decide if it is worth my time; and because library books are free I feel no guilt in tossing it aside after 8 or so pages if I decide I don't want to read it. Since moving to Virginia I have a lot of "down time" and was fortunate to recently find that a branch of the local public library is only a three minute drive down the road. Nine books later I came home with a mixture of Agatha Christie mysteries, a Dean Koontz, and a slew of books authored by the disreputable. It is from one of these books that I take tonight's blog post.
The impression left on me by this book comes from a section referencing the "story of the five balls." It is likely that someone reading this has heard this story in some form or another but the gist of it is this:

In this life everyone has to learn to juggle a total of 5 balls.

The 5 balls include family, friends, work, integrity, and health.

Four of the balls (family, friends, integrity, and health) are made of glass and therefore, if dropped, can be scratched, chipped, or even shatter.

The fifth ball,work, is made of rubber. If it is dropped it will always bounce back to you. 

The moral of the story (if you haven't guessed) is that one must take care when juggling the 4 glass balls but that we should always remember that the rubber ball, work, will always return to us.

This is a lesson that has always been hard for me to keep in perspective. Even now when I have time to enjoy these judgmental literary endeavors I am continuously concerned with when I will get a job; why I haven't gotten a job; IF I will get a job in Virginia; and whether or not I am going to have to begin applying to McDonald's in order to feel as if someone is interested in me. I have never been one who is comfortable staying at home; I have always had to be involved in something (which is what has led me to volunteer in an office on base within the first 5 days of arriving here- but that is another post in and of itself). Despite the fact that we have been here just barely over two weeks I feel anxiety over having not found a job yet and fear over the ambiguous future of my professional career. Having read the poorly written book I took this lesson from (and yes, I did end up finishing it) you would think I would be relieved of my anxieties and fears; but this is not the case. I am still anxious and still consumed with thoughts of where to look for job openings and if and when I will get hired. But I suppose at the very least I must realize and also admit that a part of my daily thoughts are now occupied with the lesson learned by the story of the 5 balls. I will get a job. "Work" will bounce back to me. It is simply the rest of the 4 life aspects, the 4 balls, the 4 important parts of my world that need my energy. It is this I now choose to focus my time and efforts; and when work is ready to come back to me I will be there to catch it.