It is snowing outside today and between shoveling the stuff and thawing out I decided to take a few minutes and make a few notes.
My wife is a big Green Bay Packer fan from Wisconsin and though we were sad that our team lost to the New York Giants we were fortunate enough to have spent time together curled up on the couch with the fire going. These last two games were as good as they get. The talent was on the level with what you would expect a championship game to be. And to spend some quality time with the wife enjoying a leisurely activity in the middle of our hustle bustle lives was a real treat. I know these moments don't come along often enough so I need to enjoy them when they come around.
That's the thing about life. So much of the time is spent looking for the next big thing or slaving our lives away trying to obtain that long lost dream, that we miss out on the simple little pleasures of life. That's right. Take pleasure in the simple little things. Notice them, appreciate them, relish in them, count your many blessings. You will be suprised at how good things really are. You will also find that when you always look on the bright side of life that it helps keep the scales balanced better. It makes it harder to be overwhelmed. And that's a good thing.
It's too easy to get caught up in the game of comparisons. Keeping up with the Jones' is nearly impossible since you are keeping up with the Jones's new iPod, and the Smith's new lawn mower, and the Wilson's new car, and the Harmon's new (fill in the blank). The trouble with this is we lump all their stuff together into one big collective Jones' garage and wonder why our garage doesn't measure up. The thing is, there is probably someone looking at your garage and wondering why theirs doesn't include the same stuff yours does. You see you can always look around you on any particular subject and find someone who is better off than you and someone who is worse off than you. And really it doesn't matter.
If you have to compare yourself to anyone one, let it be the person you were yesterday. If you are striving to make yourself better today than you were yesterday and your comparison shows even the a smallest amount of improvement then you are on the right path. Keep it up. Your doing o.k. and you are the only one that needs to know it. Don't let the way others think get in your way. They are working on their own path. If they are on a good path and you can help, by all means do. The favor may well be returned. But, and this is a big but, you are the only one that decides which path you want to be on and you are the only one to decide how best to be on that path.
If you need help along the path, just ask. Sometimes you get just what you need. Sometimes the help is good and sometimes not so good. When you get the help be grateful for it. Even the not so good help is usually done from a place of love and caring.
Along with the help will come the occasional words of advice. This can also be good or bad. It is up to you to decide how well it fits your path, and if you should follow it or not.
I just looked out the window and noticed that all my previous work is now buried under another layer of the white stuff, so I better go hit round two. Until next time, keep Healthy, Wealthy and Wise (HWW).
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
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