Let's for a moment, consider things that are easily left by the wayside. Have you ever on a daily basis, considered your finances? Or, how about your bills? Your retirement savings? Your daily living expenses?
Of course you have. We have all had to. One has to take care of these expenses or one is not long to live this relatively easy life we have during these very modern times, even in this great country of ours called, "America".
But how much do you attend to so called, "luxury" expenses? Such things as entertainment, refreshments including both food and drink beyond mere subsistence? What about your emotional or spiritual concerns? We tend to lend ourselves to the most immediate elements in our lives and forgo the ones that are just as important, seldom giving much thought to those "luxuries" because they are not of so much immediate concern to us. We have heard much through life about the "spiritual" or religious side of things from just about everyone. But we do not hear so much about the other side of that equation. And there is another side of it.
For some people, those foregone conclusions could be one's family; for others it could be any consideration of themselves and their own personal comforts. Or it could even be just giving consideration to the family dog. You have to ask yourself form time to time, what is it I am forgetting in my life?
For yet another kind of person, it could be only considerations for their own creature comforts that guide their every living moment; when really they should be more concerned about their work or profession, their obligations, their family, or simply maintaining the dwelling they live in.
There is something about life in these times, that puts us in the mindset that everything is going too fast around us, taking up too much of our time and so makes for a good excuse for avoiding those things we find most difficult (or boring) to deal with. There are indeed a great many demands put upon us in our daily lives.
But if you go back in time and read what our predecessors have had to say about the life they were living, it was really much the same for them, too. Times are always faster paced than when we were younger. It's the nature of the beast of making your way through life from beginning to the end. Not to mention we simply tend to slow down through life.
And hey, that's OK!
I have read deciphered hieroglyphics from ancient Rome and found that it was just the same for them. For instance, they had the same complaints parents have always had for their children: "they just don't listen", "they are too self-absorbed", "they have no manners", and "they are only concerned about the here and now".
And so it goes...on and on.
I think the key here is as always, in the balance. One has to consciously weigh out the various elements of one's life. Remember to take the time for yourself, just as you do for every one and every thing else that you feel responsible for. Remember that you too are important. Also, take care for your future self. Do today, what will do well for you tomorrow; just as in the past where you have done then, for your self now.
It really never ends, until it ends.
On the other hand, if you are too absorbed with only your fun times now, reflect on what got you to where you are now. Are you ignoring important things in your life that will come back to haunt you later (or sooner)? But if you do now have the leisure time and the influence (power, money, resources) to be able to do anything you like, also do not forget the other side of the coin, fading off into the past. If nothing else, it makes you appreciate the good times you are now having even more.
Life is good. But Life is also a piece of art, much like a painting. You have to ask yourself, "Is my life framed like a Jackson Pollock painting, with parts of life in the frame (and yes that frame is important too) flung hither and yon with apparent (though possibly not) total abandon?"
"Or am I more like a Rembrandt painting, with a perfection of palette and brush stroke, with great attention to detail, and concern for every sigh and breath involved?"
Well, it's up to you. Life can be good; life IS good.
But a good Life doesn't just happen by accident.
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