Sometimes maintaining balance in
life is a bit challenging. Often what
we want isn't really what we need
and visa versa. Monitoring one's
personal priorities is a task many
of us aren't very good at. That plus
maintaining a healthy balance can
be almost impossible. Whether our
crisis is driven internal or external
influences doesn't really matter. In
truth most of us simply don't know
what's good for us or... prefer to do
whatever isn't. Can't we behave?
Looking back at my life thus far, most of
my problems were self inflicted. Either I
rejected obviously positive influences or
ignored the facts. In both cases the result
sent me down the wrong path. Fortunately
somehow most of us find our way out of
the traps we set for ourselves. However
some can't seem to find the forest for the
trees. At some point we learn our lessons
and rational thinking becomes our modus
operandi. Yet even the most stalwart of
souls can occasionally fall off the deep
end. And that's when one gets in trouble.
Evaluating what's truly important and
therefore what is most beneficial often
seems to be where many falter. Setting
proper priorities is harder than it seems.
That's because the majority of us race
through life without really thinking. We
do whatever it takes to survive without
putting much thought into when, where,
or why. In my case, said plethora of
quick decisions ultimately caught up
with me. Suddenly I was confronted
with a mess of my own making with
nobody to blame for it but... myself.
Given hindsight is 20/20 - there's no
benefit to beating oneself up for the
error of their ways. However one can
leverage the result of post traumatic
stress syndrome. That's the sort of
continuing education that I work
on every day. Capricious by nature,
I rarely take a measured approach
to decision making. In addition, my
natural inclination towards arrogance
often limits my ability to learn from
others. Thus at least for this man, it's
necessary that I learn the hard way.
I've always lived my life in a rather
over the top manner. Or to be honest,
on the edge. Personal finance skills
have never been my forte'. Instead
I've lived for the day and done my
best to dress for the part. Sadly over
indulgence has been the norm rather
than exception. While sages advise
against too much of a good thing, it's
never been enough for me. Thus over
consumption drove a need to succeed.
I did whatever it took to accumulate
more given I deemed less was... less.
At this point I'm aware that accumulation
of "stuff" is not a guarantee to happiness.
However in the process of satisfying my
wants I ultimately did get what I needed.
Post making many mistakes I somehow
found the answer. At time life literally
exploded. However post every disaster
I was able to sift through the debris in
order to discover buried treasure. Thus
it seems that each of us must run into a
few dead ends, take a detour or two, and
even get completely lost prior to finally
finding our path to enlightenment.
Should satisfying the wants of
some prohibit fulfillment of the
needs of others? Scared 1930's
Germans voted in a problematic
pariah who promised redemption.
Ultimately they realized that he
was driven by a rather skewed
personal agenda. If recent polls
are any indication, post election
we could awaken to a world that
we never dreamed could be a
reality. So please, be careful what
you wish for. It just might happen.
