How Do You Measure Our Worth?
A male friend and I had a discussion this morning on the whole "if I can't provide for my family, then I'm a failure" mentality that seems to plague most men. I've been struggling with how to combat that mindset with my husband.
He returned to the workforce Thursday of last week after a three month period of unemployment, and during that period I saw how deeply that mindset is ingrained into him. There are so many ways to contribute to a family that go above and beyond money. While he was unemployed he made a larger contribution to the housework and yardwork, taking a lot of the pressure off of me. He contributed by providing more of the "kid-taxi" duties which gave me additional free time. He contributed to his mother's daily care while she was dying of cancer...that's a priceless contribution to the well-being of another. Yet he felt he was nothing but a worthless drain on the family...I just don't get it. If the tables were turned and I was unemployed, he wouldn't see me as a drain at all. He wouldn't think twice about supporting me, just as I didn't think twice about supporting him. It's just what you do when people struggle, you support each other.
NET worth is based on money...HUMAN worth is based on so much more. It's who you are and what you do that truly define you, not the amount of material posessions you have. I want to be remembered as someone that gave of myself, that made a difference in the lives of my family, friends and community. Not as someone that had a lot of stuff. It's our human legacy that lives on and follows us into eternity, not the dust collecting physical items we leave behind.
He returned to the workforce Thursday of last week after a three month period of unemployment, and during that period I saw how deeply that mindset is ingrained into him. There are so many ways to contribute to a family that go above and beyond money. While he was unemployed he made a larger contribution to the housework and yardwork, taking a lot of the pressure off of me. He contributed by providing more of the "kid-taxi" duties which gave me additional free time. He contributed to his mother's daily care while she was dying of cancer...that's a priceless contribution to the well-being of another. Yet he felt he was nothing but a worthless drain on the family...I just don't get it. If the tables were turned and I was unemployed, he wouldn't see me as a drain at all. He wouldn't think twice about supporting me, just as I didn't think twice about supporting him. It's just what you do when people struggle, you support each other.
NET worth is based on money...HUMAN worth is based on so much more. It's who you are and what you do that truly define you, not the amount of material posessions you have. I want to be remembered as someone that gave of myself, that made a difference in the lives of my family, friends and community. Not as someone that had a lot of stuff. It's our human legacy that lives on and follows us into eternity, not the dust collecting physical items we leave behind.