I Owe You
M Adam Roberts

I'm a very indebted person, but that's ok. I really don't mind it. Actually, I appreciate being in debt. All that I have borrowed has been well worth the cost. I will owe for the rest of my life. Paying off my debt is what gives my life purpose and meaning. I'm more than happy to pay what I owe. I only wish I were able to give more.

You're probably thinking this fellow has really lost his marbles! Who enjoys paying debt? Isn't it much better not to owe anything or anyone at all? Not always, though.

I don't know exactly how I ended up at this place in life, but, in the past few years, I have somehow gained an extreme appreciation for life and all that it gives to me. Unlike years before, I have a completely new attitude about the work I do now. I go out into the world each day with a new determination to give something back for all given to me. I've come to see and believe that it is my duty to do so. It's the least I can do! My very best effort cannot even come close to paying for all I will receive in the course of my day today.

Allow me to give you some examples. Everything around us is a gift that either life itself or some other people have provided for us to enjoy. Nothing is here by chance. We receive it, if we noticed it.

As I drive down the road, I realize all the work that went into building the street on which I drive. Many people worked, long and hard, to build the roads and buildings for my safety and convenience. I'm finally able to really see and appreciate that for the first time in my life!

The air conditioning that is keeping me cool right now as I type this article is an amazing invention! Many skilled and talented people have worked to make it available for me to enjoy today. I have warm heat in the winter, light in the darkness, a soft bed to sleep in, a hot bath at the end of a hard day's work.

I look around me at the beauty of nature and all that it gives me freely. The dolphins, the birds, the trees, the flowers and the heavens above: who can put a price on these things? How much are they worth to us?

What's the worth of a true friend who really cares about you? What is the value of family who loves and supports you through thick and thin? Where would we be without our teachers who have taught us so many different skills to enhance and enjoy our lives? How can we calculate the blessing it is to have professionally trained health care providers available to us to help heal us, and make us feel better, when we are sick?

This list of gifts we receive from life and other people goes on. I could continue writing it for hours and still never touch the surface of all we received each day of our lives.

The intent of this article is not to inform you of all things you're already know. What I really want to share with you is my view of the debt that I owe the world for all that it gives me. Maybe my way of seeing things will help you start enjoying the work that you do even more than you already do. If you are one who doesn't enjoy your work at all, maybe by seeing your contribution to life differently you will begin to understand the true worth of what you're actually giving. I assure you your gift is a lot more valuable than you might realize.

I've come to see my work as my contribution to life and other people. Having become so grateful for all I receive every day, having my eyes opened to see just how much it is that I am really blessed with, has energized my spirit to want to give back. I not only want to give back, I want to cram as much giving into my day as humanly possible! I've come to see my work day as a race in which I work as hard as I can in order to give back as much as I'm able in the time I've been given to contribute.

The secret in doing this is not to see your work as work at all. See your work as your contribution back to life. When you begin seeing your tasks in this manner, they start becoming more meaningful and rewarding to you. You begin feeling better about them because you now realize the things you are doing really do matter to the world, regardless of what the task may be. It becomes less and less about the money, but more and more about you wanting to give something back to life.

Some might ask, "Why put you through all of that? Especially if your pay is low and your task is undesirable. What good is it going to do you?

I'll tell you what good it's going to do you. It's going to make you feel better about your life! Other people are going to notice your attitude and it's going to cause them to want to give to you even more. At the end of your day, as you enter the door of your home, you're going to feel a peace knowing that you gave your best today to help make the world a better place for all to enjoy. You will feel like you've earned your place in the world and you'll feel like you deserve to be part of it. You'll sleep peaceful at night, and you'll feel hope for your future because you know that, somehow, life has a way of giving back more than you can ever give to it. The universe will not allow you to give more than it does! The more you give the more you will receive. This is the law of reciprocity and it works every time without fail! 

Giving back has become an honor to me. Think about it. Don't you want to contribute everything you possibly can to your loving spouse or partner for all the love and support he or she has given you? Isn't it right to want to contribute your time and love to the little children of the world for all the love and joy they bring to you? Don't even the animals of the world deserve respect and cared for, as well as nature itself? The whole universe deserves our contribution back to it for what it gives to us. It's our rightful duty to serve it, and each other.

Every morning, as I leave my house for work, I look out over the property I care for and I ask myself, "How can I bless this place today? What can I do to enrich the lives of those who reside here? What can I do to make this part of the world a better place for all to enjoy? The best I am able to give today will still be nothing in comparison to all that life will give to me. My best is only a small token of my appreciation for all the wonders of life.

I'm a heavily indebted person, but that's ok! 

As Lee Greenwood sung in his hit song titled, "I owe you," he concluded the lyrics by saying, "I know that it's the sweetest debt I'll ever have to pay."

That's exactly how I've come to feel about my debt to life and other people, who look out for me every day. I'm deeply grateful to you all for everything you've done for me.

I owe you.