No work yet. I went to an “evaluation day” with a sales and marketing company based in Cardiff city centre on Wednesday, but quickly decided it wasn’t for me. If I was to do direct marketing, it would have to be selling stuff I actually believed was worth selling, rather than trying to convince people how much better their lives would be if they bought Sky television and watched it all day. And I really wouldn’t be at home in an organisation where the main thing they use to motivate you is simply money and raw hedonism. It’s good that you can progress quickly in their business if you work hard. But I disagree completely with the boss’s attitude that making loads of money so that you can have loads of stuff is “what it’s all about”. So I got up and left.
It made me realise that I’m really not bothered about being rich. Being able to make ends meet without worry, yes, that’s pretty nice. Beyond that, I’m honestly not fussed, which probably means I won’t make as much money, because that’s not my aim in life. But that’s fine, I’ve got better things to aim for.
No work yet, and that can get rather dispiriting at times. Filling in forms, waiting to hear from different companies, sometimes hearing nothing, sometimes being rejected… it’s not a lot of fun. But the other night, I came home knowing just how happy I am. A friend had persuaded me to come and play some badminton with a group of friends. I wasn’t as awful as I feared I’d be on my first go; we had fun and enjoyed it. After some shopping we went back to their house; we ordered pizza, some others came round to visit. A moth flew in, and their oh-so-cute kitten chased it enthusiastically to our laughter and amusement.
Bidding them goodnight, I slipped off back home to read some other of my friends’ novels-in-progress over a mug of hot chocolate ready of a writers’ get-together in the morning. I knew what happiness is, not found in money, but in the glow of friendship and laughter and hope, and most of all in delighting in God and thanking him for all these good gifts.