The Lesson of the Five Balls

Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends, and integrity. And you’re keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drip it, it will bounce back. The other four balls – family, health, friends, integrity --- are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered. And once you truly understand the lesson of the five balls, you will have the beginnings of balance in your life.¹

I read this quote a few weeks ago while on vacation. I have been guilty of making my job more important than it should be in my life. Thinking that if I wasn’t there or if I didn’t do something how would the company stay afloat. I mean REALLY, I’m just a person who happens to work and those companies survived before I joined their ranks and are still around after I left.

I remember how it felt when I was laid off a few years ago. It wasn’t for performance, proven by the fact that I received notice of a pay raise on the same day that they announced I would be laid off, gotta love big companies, at least my severance package was calculated on the new higher salary. I had to do some real soul searching to make sure I didn’t place my own personal worth in the fact that I was working and had a good job.

Last week while I was on a business trip to Dallas, the company I am currently working for had 2 significant events, 1^st they was reduction of workforce (lay off) of +25 people and then 2 days later there was a hostile takeover of the company by an investment firm. WOW.

This week the new Company President was in our remote office with the 6 of us that work in Bellevue. It was a strange and stressful week. Would our positions be eliminated? Would they close the office?

The questions still go unanswered, but I know I no longer place my worth in my job. I like my job and will always work doing something but i the ball of work drops, it is made of rubber and it will bounce back. I have to stay focused on the other ones for now.

Matthew 6:26-27

¹ Susanne’s Diary for Nicholas, James Patterson, 2001.