Selling Life

You often hear that college is the best years of your life. I think this is because you are being told that you can do whatever you want with your life with just a little work. You have all these dreams that are wide open and all the opportunities in the world at your fingertips. You just have to go get it. And it's exciting.

When you graduate, you are told something else. You now can work hard for all the stuff that is going to make your life easier, simpler, more fun, etc. It's a lie. I think that some of the most content people I've ever known are the least wealthy. You see, the more stuff you have, the more responsibilities you have to take care of everything. Boats, cars, motorcycles, guns, houses...they all take a lot of work to maintain. And you are working constantly to pay for it all. And maybe you enjoy it on the weekends.

I think that there's more to life than just gathering toys. I want to live simply, but the glitz and glam that is pounded into american culture is attractive, for a very short time. Think about it. The best memories I have are definitely not when I got stuff, but when I was experiencing life with people. My first vehicle was awesome, still is, but what was awesome was seeing how my parents were acting. Mom was definitely thinking about safety and Dad was ready to cruise around town with me in the truck. It wasn't the vehicle, it was the significant moment that made it special. Some old junk car would have been just as special to me.

I'm afraid the advertising industry is changing though. Adventure and free-spirited living is being advertised and perverted. The surfing/climbing/hiking culture is being shown as an awesome way of life but its glorified as living selfishly, always seeking the best for yourself. Living selfishly isn't fulfilling. It's like trying to fill a vacuum, its always going to need more. Maybe this doesn't make sense. Maybe it does. I just know that God created me for more than living a life of thinking about myself all the time. I am not claiming to be an expert on this at all. I fail like all the time about putting others above myself. My life is a "God's Work in Progress"...

Have a great day