Sabbath 14

I'm the latecomer this week -- Cristopher and Tripp have already posted about this chapter. I was out of town for the weekend, but read the chapter over breakfast this morning. Now it's lunchtime, and I want to post at least a few scattered thoughts.

Re the description of the factory going to six-hour shifts and then back to eight hours later, I immediately began to wonder whether that factory's workers had a pension they could count on at the end of their working years.

Nowadays, I work one day a week for savings (10% of my pre-tax income into the 403(b), another 10+% of my take-home pay into cash savings for emergencies, big planned purchases, etc.) and four days a week for the money to live on.

Would I rather work a 30-hour week now? Absolutely. But even if it were possible from my employer's point of view, I would be trading off any retirement security I'm ever going to have, in favor of additional leisure time now. Personally, I'd rather be tired and overworked now, than be reduced to eating cat food when I'm old.

Re the altar exercise, I think of my whole home in that way. I keep photos of people I love in the living room and bedroom. I hang original artwork by people I love in different places in my apartment. I keep the whole place as restful and comforting-feeling as I can. I'm not so much interested in having an altar at home that I would be expected (by someone who will never know me) to sit and look at, by myself, in silence. The heck with that.

Cristopher, re your joke about Muller asking me to read a new play for relaxation -- I'll just invite you to remember that I was a dancer, trained in the art of communicating thought and emotion in gestures... and leave you to imagine my response to Muller thus. :-)