Many years ago, a king brought a peasant to his throne room and made a generous offer: “I will pay you handsomely to stand in my throne room. You will live in the royal palace and eat royal food. Your family will be provided with all their needs. All you have to do is swing your sickle from 9 am- 4:30 pm every day as if you are reaping grain.”

The peasant was astonished. How was this possible? This was an offer not to be refused. So the peasant brought his family to the palace and started “working” the next morning. He was given a corner of the throne room to swing his sickle.

For the first day, the peasant was happy and filled with elation with his good luck. On the second day, the peasant felt good to serve the king, but started to feel a little bored. By the third day, the boredom grew. On the fourth day, the peasant’s energy level fell, and he had to drag himself to his “job”.

After a week, the peasant was miserable. He went to the king and begged to be released and sent back to his former life. The king asked him: “What happened? You have everything you could possibly want! Why would you want to go back to your meager living as a farmer?” The peasant said:”Although I have everything I want, I don’t see any point to my job in the king’s palace. I need to see the fruit of my labor, even if it’s barely enough for my family to survive!” (Story from traditional Jewish teachings.)

One of the biggest challenges that face people today is lack of a framework for life that provides purpose and sense of connection that is durable. 

It is so easy to become caught up in distractions that provide little eternal value. 

Human beings need to see a purpose behind their lives. It’s about being suspended from above so we do not fall into depression and anxiety. 

Next time you catch yourself reaching for your phone first thing in the morning or last thing at night, take a brief moment and practice awareness, send compassion to someone who needs it, and use a few minutes to learn something that feeds your spirit.