It's a living. . .But, is it?

I was watching a documentary about Celts living in the Galicia region of northwestern Spain before Roman soldiers arrived and conquered in 137. So, think ancient Rome. Hadrian’s wall. And a fairly simple subsistence-based existence.

But I was caught by surprise when I heard the narrator explain a little about the way these people of nearly 2,000 years ago made their living.

Made their living.

When I hear that, my first thought actually is to wonder how much money someone makes. My next one is, “What is your job?” as in where does your income come from? Of course, I realized instantly that this is a bias unique to the time and place I live, but it got me thinking about reframing the question. So, I ask, how does one make a good life?

Making a living. Suddenly, it’s no longer what it sounds like because no matter how much money you do or do not have in the bank, no matter what level or sort of education you’ve reached, no matter what your job or profession may be, making a living is not the same thing as making a life. So, focus less on what "making a living" means and focus more on the meaning of making a life.

Make a life.

I get it. We do live in this time and these places. We do need money to provide for ourselves and our families. Of course. But while you’re making a living, remember to make a life. To paraphrase something my late husband often said, you need to do the former to feed yourself and your family but you need to do the latter to feed your soul.

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9/21/2026