Here's a few things I know.
I know that if money were no object, The Hubs would SCUBA dive every day for the rest of his life and be a very happy man.
I know that because money is important, he continued on with his degree in Computer Information Systems instead of Physical Anthropology (specifically human evolution) which he found once he started college, fell in love with, but left behind because he ultimately needed a degree that would provide a job which could support our family.
I know we teach our children from a very young age that they can be anything they want when they grow up. But as they grow up, we teach them to trade dreams for stability.
I know that society and the media teaches us to keep up. Keep up with the neighbors, keep up with the latest tech, keep up with the fast paced world around us no matter what the cost. We are told we need this latest thing to make our lives "easier" but are forced to work a little harder and a little longer in order to afford it.
I know we place so much of our personal value on our financial and professional success and not by the level of happiness in our lives or how content we are with who we are.
I can see why some people run, (not walk) from the rat race screaming about the joys of a simpler and slower lifestyle. Of course, that doesn't mean a slower/simpler lifestyle is a better one. I'm sure there are plenty of people in rural or low income areas that would laugh at the mere idea of their lives being "better". I think it's just a matter of trading one set of problems for another, but I can see how if you're doing something you love, even if you're not making tons of money, you might be fundamentally happier than if you're working in a high stress job you hate.
I also know, that there are many mornings when I look at myself in the mirror and wonder if this is all there is. Is this all my life is going to be? It's not that I'm so horribly unhappy with it all, but I guess, I just thought there would be .. more. More time with my family. More highs, less lows. More days of laughter and less stress. Oh that's a big one. I'd love a life with about half the stress I have now. I know that part of this is because we're in a place of transition, and have been for the last few years while The Hubs wraps up his degree. I day dream happily of dual incomes even though it does mean less time with him selfishly because it means less stress and work for me.
I also know if money were no object, I don't have one single thing I am passionate enough about to want to do. Don't get me wrong, there are a ton of things I like to do. I like to write. I like to take photos. A long time ago in what feels like another life, I liked to paint. But I don't consider any of these things a passion. I feel so wishy washy. So very Charlie Brown, but there it is. And if you measured my life in terms of happiness or contentedness, you'd only get "good", and I really want it to be "great". I don't know how to get there. I see no clear path, no step by step instructions, and honestly without even a goal more concise than "I want it to be great" I don't see myself getting there any time soon.
What about you guys? If money was no object, what would you be?
Seriously.. Thoughts?
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