“Society” says get a job. Buy a house, car, etc. Save for retirement, college, etc. Competition. Competition. Competition. “Society” tells you survival of the fittest is all-important. If you’ve got the money, there’s a person out there willing to do the things you don’t have time to do or want to do; Mow the lawn, clean the house, walk the dog and clean up it’s poop. Everything you see and hear on TV/radio/internet is a product waiting for fat and dirty dollar. So shut up and buy, buy, buy.  “Society” trys telling you what makes you happy, and the masses just eat it up. There’s always a bigger, better, faster way. Not to mention the gadgets giving you instant gratification. All it does is stress you out, make you more paranoid, and pushes you farther and farther away from what’s inherently true to YOU.

This is something I worried about for YEARS. You get to an age where you say to yourself “Fuck it. I’m going to do what makes ME happy”. It tends to happen in your mid 40’s. I think they call that a mid-life crisis. Some never figure it out. Cheers to the ones who do early in life! As beings, we’re naturally selfish. But this particular selfishness is warranted if one is aware enough to recognize it and actually positively change. Going out and buying a Corvette or something frivolous is not the answer.

I live in a trailer. Albeit a nice, older trailer. Nothing fancy.  I have a small fenced yard so the grandkids can run amuck safely. I have a small garden spot, but I have to plan what will prosper since it’s on the North side and not much sun. I live a block and a half from the river that runs through the middle of the city.  It’s a small town feeling within a 500,000 metropolitin population. I feel lucky to have the best of both worlds.

I drive a piece of crap car on it’s last leg. I’ve prepared to bike or take public transportation when the transmission finally goes out. Makes it hard to stock up groceries, though.

My spouse and I live simple lives and pay cash for everything. Credit is overrated. Pun intended! The only thing I dream of doing is travel the world. But, eventually, that’ll happen as well since I’ve arranged to have my ashes dumped in the Pacific Ocean.

So I say “Screw the Rat Race”!