Destinations

I was thinking about this as I was driving in town today behind a driver who was going below the posted speed limit, one of my personal pet peeves.

THE FINAL DESTINATION OF ALL HUMANS IS THE GRAVE.  
DO I REALLY WANT TO BE IN SUCH A HURRY TO GET THERE?

I guess that would make a great bumper sticker.  It made me think about how much in a hurry we are, especially in this country.  Time is money, but haste makes waste.  We have forgotten.  With all the great new technology, think of it, washing machines, vaccuum cleaners, cars, airplanes, computers and on and on, we are able to complete tasks and get places so quickly.  We also, have so much more free time than our predecessors. 

In my experience, faster is not usually better.  In the example of food, I know for a fact that the longer you stew something or roast it, at a lower temperature and let it take it's time, the more flavorful and tender it is.  There are a lot of examples to up hold this, but even more, the longer you wait to enjoy that slow cooking meal, the more heightened your senses and desire for it.  Isn't it true, that when you have to work hard to get something, or make it, don't you feel good about yourself?  Doesn't it make you happy and thankful that you finally got it?  Don't you feel the value of it for yourself more?

Let's take the idea of a meal.  I know when I spend a lot of time and effort putting a meal together, it means a lot to me.  I cook everything from scratch.  There are no boxes of mixes or cans of ready made in my cupboard.  First of all, I know exactly what I am eating and secondly, I have the satisfaction of putting it all together in the final wholesome product.  It is really very satisfying, on an emotional/mental level and on a physical level too.  I know I have chopped up every vegetable, kneaded every bread, stirred and mixed and rolled out every bit of it with my own two hands.

It's that way at work too.  It seems that big corporations have taken over everything, even the funeral home business!  The only thing they seem interested in is their bottom line.  If the return for the bigwigs in the company begins to shrink, who pays?  We all do.  Do they care if the product diminishes? No.  Do they care if the workers have to do more?  No.  So people just don't take pride in their work anymore.  Can't really blame them, when there isn't much reason for company loyalty.  The company doesn't have loyalty for you.  They'll cut your job, your pay, your co-workers jobs, until their bottom line is satisfied, with never a thought for how it effects you.

So what can we do about all this?  Well, unfortunately, we can't change the world, but we can change ourselves.  If each person stopped and took stock of themselves.  What is really important to you?  That new car?  Bigger house?  Expensive clothes?  Really??!  How about your family?  Your friends?  Your health? That's more like it!!  So maybe you can stop stressing about work and all the pressure.   Maybe if you put in that vegetable garden and eat less processed foods, drove that car another couple of years, take a camping vacation and biked to work, then you could get by on much less.  Then you might find yourself living healthier.  Having more time for your family and friends.  Happier?!  Really?!

I have found that attitude is everything.  Everything starts with attitude.  If we feel restless and perceive that we need more stuff.  Guess what, we'll be unhappy.  The key is not having what you want, but wanting what you've got.  It's not losing ambition, but turning that ambition on it's ear and focusing on what the really important things are.  We let ourselves get bent out of shape over all the little mundane things that don't amount to a hill of beans and forget about what the really important stuff is.  The people.  Starting with ourselves and moving outwardly from there.

One of the things I've noticed is people using the word "selfish" when what they really mean is "self-centered".   I think selfish gets a bad rap.  If you are being selfish you are putting yourself first, you are taking care of yourself.  That is not necessarily a bad or wrong thing to do.  If you do not take care of yourself, who will?  If you do not take care of yourself, how are you going to take care of anybody else?  So take care of yourself today, before you do something nice for someone else, do something nice for yourself.  You'll be amazed at how much it will elevate your sense of well-being.  You'll be a better person for it, too.

One of those nice things you can do, is spend some time with yourself.   Stop to smell the roses, as it were, literally or figuratively, your call.

Enjoy!