I’m Having Fun . . . are you?

. . . but at what cost?

I’m having fun listening to a Bach cantata — (you do know what that is, don’t you?!) This happens to be a Bach ‘secular’ cantata instead of one of his many ‘sacred’ cantatas, and so the primarily humorous nature of Bach’s secular cantatas is reflected in the music itself… Yes, actually fun to listen to! - as opposed to the meaningful enjoyment derived from the sacred cantatas.

I realize most people in our country would not consider this a means of having fun — which is exactly one of the points I’m attempting to make in this article. I know my husband would not have enjoyed this means, but I can honestly say I am now experiencing one of the few benefits of being a widow. The point: We all experience fun in different ways — and that is all well and good.

The problem comes in when we have fun at the cost of others’ pleasure or good. For instance, when a prank has been played on someone, the prankster often says, “It was only a prank; I was just having fun.” But how fun was it for the recipient of the prank? It often even becomes disastrous or injurious… a serious cost for fun indeed!

I once had a friend who constantly spoke of ‘having fun’… about everything! I began to think about this — about whether I ever ‘have fun’… or if I even desire to have it. My realization was that I experience a great…