The Doric column has been moved yet the Arena of Ideas is very large. From atop the stairs I still stand with my cane and listen to the vast river of humanity as it marches by.
Despite the gloom and doom that I see coming, and discuss from time to time, there is still much to enjoy in this country. It is still a very good time to be alive.
There is still high end jobs available if one is willing to move for them. This country has been famous for having a highly mobile workforce and it has helped us to maintain a strong economy. The housing market, since at least 2006 has limited this greatly. Families are tied to homes that have lost much of their value and can only be kept as long as their jobs do not change. If you lose your job, it is inevitable that you will lose your home as well. The only question is how long and how much will go down the drain before you simply walk away and let the bank eat it. Hey, that is why they were given a taxpayer funded bailout, right?
So, anyhow, the economy, for the time being, is still mobile. This allows talent to migrate around the economy and 'pollinate' new ideas with local means.
Technology and Social Media allow people to stay connected despite their physical locations. Not only does this allow friends to remain friends, even after a family move, but it allows business networking to pollinate regardless of location as well.
On a more personal level, The US is still great simply because of who we are as a collective people. While driving an SUV full of speed-talking, chipmunk-sounding, screaming teenage girls to their 8th grade dance is an honor that not many fathers are able to do in the world. In Europe, buses and trains (as in New York and Chicago) prevented this custom from developing. In Asia, Africa, and South America this concept is a rather odd thing to take in. In many of those cultures, Islam especially, girls going unescorted by male relatives is enough to get someone stoned.
The freedom to drive where I want, when I want is a uniquely American experience. I don't have to worry about kidnappers (I'm not anywhere close to Mexico), snipers, bombs in the road, or drug gangs getting between me and the girls' dance.
I can go to the supermarket and find just about anything I want. I can go to a doctor and have top notch care. I don't have to go to a witch doctor or subject myself to the purgatory of Asian medicine. I can have a moving company move my stuff across the country and they will not steal anything. My food is clean and relatively inexpensive (the inflation is killing me of late).
Despite all the bad things going on, I can enjoy the freedom to be driven insane by my daughter and her friends. Most dads would not look at it that way, but it gives one a unique insight into the modern teen age girl. They are much like other teen agers through the centuries though things move faster for them today then ever before.
So again, look for those moments where you can seek clarity in the world around you. Don't be so quick to get a goal accomplished or a task scratched off your to-do list. Be glad that you can do these things without worrying where your next meal is coming from or whether bad things will be done to you while you try to get this list done.
Sometimes, the best thing in life that you can strive for is to be bored. Thats what I aim for. Clarity of thought comes with serenity in your life. If you allow your life to be full of waves, then your thoughts will be as well. Calm your life and you will see more clearly what needs to be done and how to do it. Once that path has been started, life will greatly improve since you are now making fewer mistakes and fewer poor choices. It will become self-sustaining.
Re-read that last paragraph over a few more times and let it sink in.
This is enough, for now. Must break in my new seating step. My back-side is a little sore. Until next time.
Live well.
--Zavost
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