The Hustle
I am a self-confessed granny. There, I said it. When I was in high school, I quickly figured out that I was not the type to pull all-nighters getting homework done and I needed a good 8 hours of sleep to be able to function as a human being. Nowadays, if my social media feeds are anything to go by, it is fashionable to be up at 5:30am to better yourself and participate in the ‘hustle’. We’re told that if we go to bed and get up earlier we can be ‘winners’ – even though there is no one answer for what winning might entail. Sleep deprivation maybe?
Sometimes when I see these posts on social media I can’t help but feel pressured to do better at life, but with most of my day taken up by work, study, eating, sleeping, showering, and fitting in time for fun I am not sure where to I can actually fit more in. Aren’t all of these things enough? Will adding lemon to my water in the morning really add much to this equation?
My point is that this popular focus on being your ‘best self’ can actually prevent us from finding ways to work together to be a better community. There is absolutely nothing wrong with personal development and self-care, but my concern with the focus on ‘winning at life’ is that we’re accepting that there are people who are losing. Pope Francis has a few words to say about this in Christus Vivit:
Dear young people, please, do not be bystanders in life. Get involved! Jesus was not a bystander. He got involved. Don’t stand aloof, but immerse yourselves in the reality of life, as Jesus did”. Above all, in one way or another, fight for the common good, serve the poor, be protagonists of the revolution of charity and service, capable of resisting the pathologies of consumerism and superficial individualism. (174)
Superficial Individualism is the idea that we have what it takes to do and achieve everything by ourselves. Now when it is explained like this it seems obvious that it’s impossible to do everything alone, but the narratives I mentioned above slowly filter into our lives until we don’t realise that we are striving to be the single best human being who doesn’t need anyone else and will WIN AT LIFE. Phew. That was as exhausting to type out as I can imagine it would be to live it!
The essence of our faith is one of sharing and is embodied in the actions of Jesus at the last supper. Our ability to be in communion with one another is what gives us purpose in life. For me, ‘winning at life’ (although I still disagree with that term) looks like one modelled on the actions of Jesus who was NOT a bystander. There are so many young people in our community who understand that too. Young Mercy Links spend their weekends and school holidays mentoring refugee and asylum seeker children. FEED share meals together and create connections for young adults. St Luke’s Evangelists spend their Friday nights learning more about their faith and inviting others to join I could go on and list off the many young people I know who see the importance of being and doing together.
Pope Francis recently announced the theme for this year’s local celebration of World Youth Day: “Arise! I make you a witness of what you have seen.” You can read more about that here. He gives us this quote when speaking about how young people have approached the COVID pandemic:
“Whenever a young person falls, in some sense all humanity falls. Yet it is also true that when a young person rises, it is as if the whole world rises as well. Young people, what great potential you have in your hands! What great strength you have in your hearts!”
“Today too, God is saying to each one of you: ‘Arise!’ I fervently hope that this message may help us prepare for new times and a new page in the history of humanity. Yet we cannot begin anew without you, dear young people. If our world is to arise, it needs your strength, your enthusiasm, your passion.”
He is cheering us on to be the ones that take the difficulties of the past couple of years and create something new and wonderful, together. When Pope Francis implores us to ‘Arise’ like St Paul, he is not asking us to wake up at 5:30am and go for a run. He is asking us to move as one together, with our diversity, to build the world that God desires.
You can ‘Arise’ with us in around a month’s time when we host the Diocesan Youth Assembly on the 21st of November. We will be spending time responding to the results of the Diocesan Assembly together as young people and it will be an opportunity for ongoing dialogue!
This article was written by Holly Roberts, Diocesan Youth Ministry Officer. holly.roberts@cesa.catholic.edu.au