Get a Life! I've heard this often as I've marched or stood vigil in protest of our current administration's policies. Of course, the people who shout this are typically driving by in their gas-guzzling, four-wheel drive vehicles so I've never had the opportunity to ask them exactly what they mean by "Get a Life". Nor do I have time to tell them that I have sacrificed time out of my own "life" to participate in a protest, because my life isn't strictly about my own desires.
I remember years ago, when the phrase "Get a Life" first became popular, I thought it was appropriately applied to people who sit in front of the television instead of participating in a more productive activity. Maybe the four-wheel drivers are off to rescue stranded backpackers in the nearest canyon, so they feel what they are doing is more productive than my protesting. If so, all they'd need to say is "come give us a hand", and I'd be happy to help. Maybe next time...
We spent the dreaded feast-day with some dear friends. They did deep-fry a large bird carcass, but we had a mutual chiding about their disgusting desire to consume animal flesh, and the freakishness of our vegetarianism. Of course, we brought rolls and carrot casserole, and brownies for dessert, and our friends prepared other vegetarian dishes and salad. There was so much good food on the table, we didn't even have to look at the carcass! On my way to work the following day, I heard a radio commercial for a clothing sale at a retail store. A young woman's voice said something like, "When I meet a guy I look at the name brands he's wearing". I thought about how long advertising has been shaping the mindsets of young people. Didn't we learn anything from "Satisfaction"? ("he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke the same cigarettes as me").
While at work, I overheard an associate gossiping with someone on the telephone, saying "what do you expect from someone who dates a guy with a mullet?", (the hairstyle, not the fish). I considered that maybe I don't have a "life", because I was unaware that wearing a "mullet" hairstyle denoted an undesirable character flaw. I wonder if "Get a Life" now means conformity to self-centered materialism (a great or excessive regard for worldly concerns).
I love working in the veterinary field. Non-human patients don't care if I don't wear make-up. They don't care if my hairstyle isn't the latest fashion (they don't even care if I have a bad-hair day). They don't care that I don’t wear name-brand clothes or shoes. They are simply comforted because I am there to care for them.
My message isn't "Get a Life", but "wake-up to the Life you are living". When you get to the end of your so-called "life", will you be able to say that you stood up for your own convictions, or conformed to the opinions of others? Will you have given at least as much as you received?