Hi All,
I get my nose rubbed more than once weekly just how much others around me divide their worlds by thier Expectations.
Pondering this much; it seems many around me believe we are all in flip-switch categories of To-Be-Served; or, to-serve.
And the better of these folks are quite willing to serve-others just as long as when their time comes, they are in turn, are served.
I live just off of a transit corridor the services a decent bass fishing and water skiing lake. And the main road has now four Mount Saint Helens; Federal, State and private interpretive centers strung out along its 55 miles.
So a lot of folks individually, and big tour bus; seasonally, traveling and spending out; expecting to be served. Our 3rd biggest jobs base here close locally are services to these tourist-visitors. Timber harvesting/reforesting, and the K12 school as #1, and #2 jobs base.
I have to travel 15 miles outside our river drainage to find actual farmers and general purposes trades folks.
The to-serve and be-served folks always expect when they turn on the water faucet; the water will aways come. When they flip on a light switch; the lights will always work. When they plug into an electrical power outlet; they will always be served up with power. They payed their service bills damn-it: now serve me!
Ha! Ha! Me . . . I expect when me or the wife goes out to start a vehicle to go somewhere it will most likely start up. And when it does not - grab the keys to a back-up vehicle. Sort out the problem later. That back-up not starting . . . then it is down the line of anything here that will start. And use that, and jumper cables to start a primary. Setting up an inverter-generator running, and battery charger on one of the did-not-starts to charge while traveled away.
A Resilient Life you create and maintain. Not expecting others to serve it up to you.
And when I/we do asked to be served . . . I say thank you very much . . . and if appropriate; I/we do tip well.
You will get out of Life what you invest into yourself. It is your life. Live it.
Not waiting, or expecting it to be served up to you by others.
We spend the first half of our lives living for tomorrow. Im going to go to school for 4 years for my future career for instance. Some day I will have a wife and children. Im saving up to buy a new house. Then your life passes you buy and you may accomplish some goals fail at others. Your perspective on life changes as you mature and then one day, you realise those days living to tomorrow are ending. There is no time left.
LIve in the moment and enjoy your life while can. Because its just like that song “dont blink” life will pass you by faster than you think.
Its good to have goals in life and you should. Just dont forget to enjoy life while you achieve those goals
I’m definitely one to plan for the future. But as I get older, I learn that my plans have blinded me in some ways, to other possibilities. And every time I am forced to step back, reconsider, things open up and I am better off.
Right now we’re going through that again. With no house to live in, my daydreams of slowly DIY building the perfect house, are shattered. There’s no time for that now. But, I can still build (or hire built) something good in the timeframe that I have. More importantly, the perfect was the enemy of the good - I can get close enough and do it NOW - then move on with other aspects of life. It’s actually freeing to be (partially) denied your dreams. You have to compromise and move forward.
To Steve’s point, the investment I’ve made in myself and my chosen direction can still pay dividends, even when the path changes. We will be better off and closer to our goals after this transition. It’s just going to be painful going through it. But looking back, these will be the best years of our lives.
We are finishing up our 9 months year with the Denmark Exchange Student. 15, now 16.
She has to go back home country now and decide which direction she will pursue. University . . . become a Doctor maybe.
Trade schools for something else. She has postulated law enforcement.
Her: a three seasons high school sports player I’ve had the opportunity to speak with others-local the same age.
For them ALL too many choices gives them much apprehension.
I remember back that I was at the same age.
I’ve tried to encourage any of them to just go-forth expecting to change careers and life-directions at least four times. I’ve had to.
Fortunately real, now, today, Life helps a lot to narrow down the actual possibilities.
As both of you have found, and lived now; Life will knock you down. Throw setbacks at you.
Important.
To pause. Reassess based the then the knock-down; set-backs. You are in truth then narrowed down guided always to the Real Practical achievable.
20 games of fast-pitch softball (most lost) should have honed her reassessment capability.
Cheap learning. Real Life learning is aways expensive.
S.U.
