ADO - At last a Day Off!

Finally took my first Allocated Day Off (ADO) on Monday! Was sooooo good going to bed on Sunday night without that dreaded feeling of having to wake up early the next day! Spent my day off sleeping in (always good!), and then went shopping for home loans with Themis in Randwick. Now neither of us had any clue about home loans, how they work, what types there are etc. so I guess it was an educational exercise more than because we were seriously considering buying a place anytime soon! And I have to say we both found it rather overwhelming and depressing to think that we might be tied down to paying off a property for the next 30 years!!! With Sydney property prices spiralling out of reach, it almost makes one wonder if it's realistic to settle down here. But then I've grown up here, lived here all my life, have friends, family and church here, and the thought of having to leave it...well...it becomes almost unimaginable! Having said that, I have to say I've considered living overseas for a little while...maybe a year or two or three and then coming back...that'd be pretty cool I think!

But then I remember how one of the bank teller ladies showed us this chart with all one's major life events plotted on it and I thought...is this my life mapped out for me already?! Am I on a conveyor belt leading towards my first car, first home, getting married, changing jobs, getting a promotion, having kids etc etc etc just like everyone else??? Not that those things are necessarily bad things to be working towards but...makes you wonder...in Stacie Oraco's words "there's gotta be more to life..."... I think many people will say that happiness in life is the meaning of life and that largely happiness is tied up with all those things - having a nice car, nice house, nice wife, nice kids, nice job etc... I think in that light, it's difficult as Christians to look beyond the fleeting pleasures and values of this world and to look forward to true peace and happiness found in a relationship with our creator God and eternal salvation one day in heaven...

Looks like I'll need another day off to ponder where I am currently finding peace and happiness, where I'm placing my hopes and dreams, and all other issues pertinent to the meaning of life...