The Trainee prophet from our biblical story in the last post panicked for a most important reason. The axehead that fell into the water was borrowed—not owned.
Isn’t that much like us? Our most important values are not truly “ours” but rather entrusted to us. Our talents, time, relationships, and moral principles are all precious resources we’re responsible for stewarding, not possessing. Of course, just because we often claim that these values are ours (“I am multihyphenated”, “i value my time”, “No one messes with my family”, ” that’s my principle”) doesn’t mean its ours, each of these can be taken away from us in the twinkle of an eye. They are, in the main, a trust.
Like how a heir should treat a family trust, we ought to recognize that our most precious resources—time, relationships, talents, health—are entrusted to us temporarily. And ought not to let that trust lose value or become lost in any way.
From time to time, like the young prophet, we need to honestly assess which essential values have “sunk” beneath the surface of our daily awareness. Intentionally introduce simplicity, humility, and spiritual practices that counteract the weight of our modern complexities. As our lost values resurface, we can actively reclaim and reintegrate them into our lives.
Keep the things you have been entrusted with in full view and seek to regain them back when they fall off into the ever-running stream of ambition. It is how you remain trustworthy to everyone who depends on you and loves you.