Blessed with the opportunity to experience anew the awe-inspiring beauty and wonder of America, in a great trip across the western part of the United States not too long ago, I am writing my first post on my thoughts.
Reflections cultivated driving 31 days and 4,984 miles across parts of 8 states - Colorado, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.
Image Source: PixabayAs one might imagine, dear reader, on my "road to recovery" (R2R) trip, this amount of "windshield time" gave me a very rare (very unlikely to be repeated) opportunity to think about a lot of different aspects of my long life.
In this first post (there may be more ... 😉), in my attempt to get the most important of them written down, I want to "talk" about wealth, prosperity and ... the importance of contentment!
Immense Wealth
From my long experience in life and the opportunity to see many parts of not only America, but many other countries, I find it relatively easy to "see" wealth all around us. This trip was, in a manner of speaking, a bit of "sensory overload," given how much I experienced over a relatively short period of time.
So ... The heightened awareness of what is easy to take for granted, brought back a lot of memories. Fresh opportunities to think about this important topic.
Image Source: PexelsWe all have different perspectives on what wealthy means. As a starting point on consensus, perhaps we can agree whether or not we have available to us the "fundamentals:"
- A roof over our heads to shelter us from "the elements" - so, as a result, we are seldom too hot or too cold, but "just right" ...
- Ready availability of nutritious food - so "hungry" means it's about that time again. To eat another meal ...
- Variety of well-made clothing - so "covering ourselves" is not a problem at all. And we have a rich diversity of options from which to choose ...
Image Source: PexelsOn the first of these, I have stayed at the Fairmount Chateau on the incomparable Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada; the incredible "country club" accommodations provided for us while working at the El Teniente copper mine on the side of the Andes mountains in Chile; the remarkable downtown hotel in Stockholm, Sweden attending a world-wide convention a long time ago, etc. ...
On the second, I have been in remarkable restaurants across America and a number of other countries. Where the food provided was phenomenal. At times, at the expense of my employer. At other times, like this recently completed trip, at my own ...
On the third, well, you get the idea ...
Beyond that, where you live are you able to go into a kitchen or a bathroom and turn a tap for access to good, clean water? Hot water or cold? Either one is no problem? How about flushing a toilet to easily resolve the removal of one of those ... uhhh ... "basics" in life?
In short (I'm working on writing shorter posts ... 😉), I have been blessed to experience aspects of life which royalty in times past could not have enjoyed. It simply wasn't possible. Today? We take it for granted ...
So ... Surely we are, for the most part, content right?
The "Pursuit of More!"
NO!! For far too many of us anyway ...
Given all of this immense wealth all around us, what is it about "the human condition" that we still want more? We want to be "happy!" We're almost happy, but ... If only we can experience our latest, greatest "plan" coming together. The way we want (not need) ...
Image Source: PixabayWhat we'll end up with will be ... Bigger ... "Better" .... More! Then, we'll be happy for sure! Right?
Image Source: PixabayYes, well, dear reader, I would suggest the answer is no. The "pursuit of more" is insatiable ...
Definition of Insatiable: "Incapable of being satisfied ..."
And, God knows, I have spent enough of my life in this vain pursuit myself to speak with a little ... uhhh ... "authority" on the topic.
How about closing with a word from the greatest authority on this topic who ever lived? Who might that be? Solomon, the king of Israel, after the death of his father, David. About who this is written:
"... Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days."
1 Kings 3:12-13 - [emphasis added mine]
So ... What did the wisest and wealthiest man who ever lived have to say about our topic?
"All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun."
Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 - [emphasis added mine]
For this "old warhorse," these words cannot be improved upon. The pride of men is their undoing. The wealthiest and wisest man who ever lived did not "read this in a book" somewhere, but wrote from his own life experience - all was vanity and striving after the wind ...
Closing
One of the many blessings of being an American is our heritage, immortally captured by these words in our Declaration of Independence:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Source: American Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 - [emphasis added mine]
Ahhh, yes ... The "pursuit of happiness" ... For this American, who is about American as it is possible to be, in my pursuit of happiness, I have a large and growing appreciation for the simple things in life (see my Steem profile). Growing even more after safely arriving home from this trip. It is an essential conviction of mine that my beloved and I will do well, for whatever number of days may remain to us, to have contentment as a central focus of them.
Why? The insatiable "pursuit of more" is ultimately unhealthy. And destructive ... As an act of our free wills, we choose to focus on the many blessings we have. And the simple things all around us. Which cost us nothing, if only we will open our eyes to "see" ... There will be more details to follow, on some developing details, but that is it for now.
Thank you for investing your time in reading my post, dear reader. I’d love to hear any feedback you may be inspired to provide.
Until "next time," all the best to you for a better tomorrow, as we all work together to build up our Steem Communities and increase the value of the Steem blockchain! 👍 😊
Respectfully,
Steemian @roleerob
Posted using SteemPeak and “immutably enshrined in the blockchain” on Wednesday, 12 June 2019!
P.S. Hmmm. 1,432 words ... Goal was < 1,000 ... 😏 "Practice makes perfect" ...
Interested to read more of my “reflection” series of posts? Great!
- Reflections: Adding "Value" to the Steem Blockchain - Chapter 1
- Reflections: Curation and Pollination
- Reflections: My Life as a Hay Farmer
- Reflections: Adding "Value" to our Steem Blockchain - Chapter 2
- Reflections: Innocent until Proven Guilty!
- Reflections on the Future: BBC 2018 Conference in San Antonio, Texas
- Reflections: My "Road to Recovery" Trip
- Reflections: Officially retired ... Or am I?
- Reflections: Information "tsunami!" And ... No end in sight ...
