"I rescued you from a single-wide!" my husband jokes once in awhile. But I loved my life in that single-wide! Thirty some-odd years ago I was a single mom and moving to that single-wide saved me $200 a month in rent. Not only that, it was a mile from the Pacific ocean and a few miles from the lake I wind-surfed in. I wasn't "in" that single-wide much at all...I was "on vacation" every weekend...enjoying emotional freedom and outdoor activities for the first time in my life. And besides, the park was small and really nice, settled into the hills of magenta flowering ice plant ivy the owner had painstakingly planted twenty years prior. Now I live in a relatively small cabin with a huge floor to ceiling stone fire place. I'm surrounded by space, wild animals, and a gorgeous view out the windows. I also have quite a few homes around me, and most are quite large. Two people asked me this in the same week. "Are you ok living in that small cabin?" To me, this small cabin is the mansion I never imagined living in. And in less than an hour it's clean and I'm back outside.
Yes! Always chasing something "bigger and better" keeps us dissatisfied with our life. I've often though how fun it would be to win the lottery and use it to buy gift cards for places like tire shops, car repair shops, grocery stores, etc., and anonymously put them in people's mail boxes. When is enough enough?
Well said. One thing I pay a lot of attention to, having worked in the family retail business for 20 years, is going out of my way to thank the clerk at the check out counter, server or kid who just served my popcorn at the theater. A significant portion of people treat these people like the personal complaints department of life, and clearly look down on them. So many of the young people / anyone doing these jobs get very jaded about society as a result.
I’ve spent half my working experience in retail and half what most would consider a socially esteemed job. I often appraise real estate worth many millions of dollars. Working Retail is easily 10x as hard.
We can do a lot of good by lifting up those around us with just short interactions, and they’ll go on to treat their coworkers and other customers even better. They’ll go home with a better attitude and be more positive around their families. I think we’ve really downplayed the “little” interactions with strangers as unimportant, when often they’re the most important.
"I rescued you from a single-wide!" my husband jokes once in awhile. But I loved my life in that single-wide! Thirty some-odd years ago I was a single mom and moving to that single-wide saved me $200 a month in rent. Not only that, it was a mile from the Pacific ocean and a few miles from the lake I wind-surfed in. I wasn't "in" that single-wide much at all...I was "on vacation" every weekend...enjoying emotional freedom and outdoor activities for the first time in my life. And besides, the park was small and really nice, settled into the hills of magenta flowering ice plant ivy the owner had painstakingly planted twenty years prior. Now I live in a relatively small cabin with a huge floor to ceiling stone fire place. I'm surrounded by space, wild animals, and a gorgeous view out the windows. I also have quite a few homes around me, and most are quite large. Two people asked me this in the same week. "Are you ok living in that small cabin?" To me, this small cabin is the mansion I never imagined living in. And in less than an hour it's clean and I'm back outside.
What a great perspective Linda! Be grateful for what we have vs waiting for something else to fill that gaping hole.
Yes! Always chasing something "bigger and better" keeps us dissatisfied with our life. I've often though how fun it would be to win the lottery and use it to buy gift cards for places like tire shops, car repair shops, grocery stores, etc., and anonymously put them in people's mail boxes. When is enough enough?
Well said. One thing I pay a lot of attention to, having worked in the family retail business for 20 years, is going out of my way to thank the clerk at the check out counter, server or kid who just served my popcorn at the theater. A significant portion of people treat these people like the personal complaints department of life, and clearly look down on them. So many of the young people / anyone doing these jobs get very jaded about society as a result.
I’ve spent half my working experience in retail and half what most would consider a socially esteemed job. I often appraise real estate worth many millions of dollars. Working Retail is easily 10x as hard.
We can do a lot of good by lifting up those around us with just short interactions, and they’ll go on to treat their coworkers and other customers even better. They’ll go home with a better attitude and be more positive around their families. I think we’ve really downplayed the “little” interactions with strangers as unimportant, when often they’re the most important.
Excellent Rob. You do this well. You need to copy/paste your comment as your first Substack post. Time to drive the car so you can steer it!
I’ve still got a few more days this month before I finalize how I should spend my time this year. So I’ll keep you updated
Love it! Thank you for the thought provoking questions.
Thank you Micaela!