Just for a few minutes, think about the fix we’ve gotten into (as a generation, not just you and me). We live life in a fast forward motion. We eat too much, spend too much, go too much, work too much, and do too much. Road rage no longer surprises us, we’re much more likely to be taken aback by courtesy rather than rudeness. If a salesperson is incredibly helpful and friendly, it stands out as “different” to us and leaves an impression.
There was a time when, upon hearing someone say, “I’m stressed” or “I’m depressed,” we’d register a wave of alarm and wonder what we could do to help them. We’re nearly at a place, now, when we hear the words and think, “Yeah, well who isn’t?”
As a society, we battle obesity, high blood pressure, heart attacks, diabetes, sleep deprivation, stress, bi-polar disorders, depression, anxieties, dependencies, and sadly the list goes on and is built upon daily.
We’ve gotten to the place where you’ll hear a man say that he hasn’t had a chance to read a newspaper in a week and a woman say she isn’t sure what her child’s favorite juice is – that she’ll have to ask the next time she drops him off at daycare…..and they both say it proudly, as in “Look how busy I am! You’re impressed, right?”
Wrong. Nothing really impressive about a rat running its race on a treadmill.
All of us, for our own good, as well as for that of the psyches of future generations, need to dial down a little bit on the dial of life. We need to start enjoying our days more, rather than just working them into the ground. Yes, work is pretty darned important – freakin’ necessary in fact, but if all we do is work - when do we enjoy its rewards?!
Have you ever heard a workahaulic say they’re working “for their retirement?” If they work themselves into heart disease, that day will either never come or it’ll arrive just to be spent going from doctor to doctor. The money they made will be spent all right, but not how they’d planned. And it’ll be enjoyed all right – but by cardiologists, not by them!
In a great, mind-awakening book by Elaine St. James, Simplify Your Life : 100 Ways to Slow Down and Enjoy the Things That Really Matter, the following suggestions are made. A few are radical, I’ll grant you that. But so is what we’re doing!
- De-clutter your household. Simplify your life in every way possible. Even get rid of your lawn if it’s too much to care for.
- Move into a smaller house.
- Simplify your wardrobe.
- Get out of debt.
- Re-think your spending habits.
- Rent rather than own.
- Stop making the bed.
- Clean up your eating habits.
- Clean up your relationships.
- Be yourself.
- Meditate.
- Toss your Day Runner.
- Live closer to where you work.
- Make small changes to simplify your life.
- Ask yourself what’s important in life.
- Make changes that make your life easier.
She’s a very, very motivational author who makes you realize that changes need to be made – even if you don’t follow her every lead. For example, the thought of leaving my bed unmade gives me the hebbie jebbies. No no no, it has to be made and made well – pillows just so, the lines on the comforter perfectly aligned, the throw at the foot folded symmetrically – otherwise my cat and I will both be out of sorts.
Aside from our idiosyncrasies, this author is one you’ll not only enjoy reading, you’ll better your life by doing so. She has written several books, each of which would earn 5 stars from the reader on this side of the keyboard. The main thrust of her teachings is simplification, and therein just may lie the secret to turning things around for our fast-paced, rat-racing society – while there’s still plenty of time for us to enjoy the rewards.
We have to get to the point where we enjoy and treasure the life we have rather than feverishly trying to fashion it into a different, supposedly better one.
Have an amazing and fun weekend! I hope your team makes it on selection Sunday. My fingers are crossed for my UK Wildcats and UofL Cardinals. Crummy years for both of them – neither one ever seemed to get going. Usually March Madness is an incredibly exciting time here in the Bluegrass, but this year our cats purr rather than roar and our birds can’t get off the ground.
Maybe the baseball gods will be kinder to me and this really will be the St. Louis Cardinal’s year!
Joi
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