The Rat Race.

I was just kid. My Mom took me and my sister to a store, K-Mart I think. She said, you can buy one thing each, whatever you want. I went up and down the isles… every single one. There was NOTHING I wanted. We got to the end of the isles and my hands were empty. My sister found a few things… she wanted to know if she could have two things since I did not want any…. I can’t remember my Moms answer.

I think of that experience so often. These days keeping up with the Jones is something I strive NOT to do. There is something to be said for simple. Something to be said for not WANTING. Wanting more, more, more can get us on this hamster wheel of life. We first want the nice cars, then big house, then 3 kids, then, the nice clothes to go with the nice kids, then the private schools for the kids, then the Ivey league universities. The vacations. The purses. The boat. The second house. The private plane. Its endless - the hamster wheel turns into a rat race.

I bowed out long ago. And I found happiness. For me, there is something to be said for simple. I like nice - but I really like simple. I’m not a big gift giver because I dont want to add to the race for you or for me.

Why do you want what you want?

What do you get from it when you get it?

It’s important to know why we are ‘chasing’ rather than enjoying what is and what we already have. There’s so much to be grateful for today.

It’s a strange thing to have goals yet also to be grateful for exactly what is, already. That is the secrete sauce of success, to me.

“There is a correlation between how much we care about what others think of us and how much time, energy, and money we waste in a month.” ― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“Fill your life with experiences, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.” – Anonymous