It would be nice if

[cjsmith]

One of the reasons I want to change careers is so that I have time and energy for the it-would-be-nice-ifs of life. It would be nice if I could see my parents more often. It would be nice if I sent a thank-you card to people we stayed with a few weeks ago. It would be nice if I could think of a costume for Halloween.

Maybe in ten years I'll get there. (Today is a rather grumpymaking day; I point this out in case the previous sentence didn't clue you in.) The parents and the costume, well, I'll have to retire to have that kind of time, and at the rate I'm going I will have neither parents nor legs by then. But I can make time for the littler it-would-be-nice-ifs. Small things I can do. Sufficiently small things, I can do now. It took just a few minutes to send a card this evening. It's better than doing nothing. Right? And it makes life happier both for me and for the recipient. For a few minutes spent, that's pretty good. Right? Right.

Enough musing. Something tells me "it would be nice if" I got my laundry out of the dryer. Here I go.

Comments

life

[jimp220.livejournal.com]

Life is too short to be unhappy. Articles that tell about folks that dropped out of the rat race to do what they really wanted to do were overall very much happier. Someone once interviewed folks in a nursing home and asked them if they would have done anything different in their lives and the overwhelming response was to the effect 'spent less time at the office and more time doing what I liked to do'. The software engineer that moved to organic farming, the Wall street trader that started a bed and breakfast, the airline executive that moved to white water rafting tours, all had no regrets and reported to be much happier with their lives.

I too have moved from multiple frenetic business meetings per day, many out of town business trips, lobbying political delegations, etc to a 'downsized lifestle' of working on my house, landscaping, long motorcycle rides through the mountains of Arizona, gardening, babysitting my granddaughter. I can tell you firsthand I am much more at peace and easier to be around, according to my family. Financially, although I make a little less now, we are not hurting.

Life is like an hour glass glued to the table, all of our money will not give us another minute. Good luck and God bless.

Re: life

[apparentparadox]

And, you never know how much time you have. Mark's brother-in-law died in a freak accident at 45. Waiting until some time in the future to start living your life may not be a good strategy.

Re: life

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I vacillate between two thoughts here:

1) now that I can't have any fun hobbies, I better get a fun career
2) I lost the race, what's the point?

1 will take the better part of ten years.

Re: life

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Life is too short to be unhappy.

Well, I have commitments I intend to honor. Given the financial and personal "unchangeables," the almost-ten-year plan is a good one, and I'll be a lot happier at fifty than I am at forty. I wish it weren't going to take so long, but then again, in ten years I'll be fifty either way, eh? May as well be heading in the right direction!

Good luck and God bless.

Thanks!

Re: life

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Make the journey fun, too?

Re: life

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I sure hope so!

[the-fantum.livejournal.com]

damn .. laundry in the dryer .. I knew there was something I was forgetting

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

*chuckle* I was way too proud of myself for finishing that chore!

[jupiter29.livejournal.com]

If you're current job takes up so much of your time that you can't think of a Halloween costume, you should definitely find a new one. That's just too darn stressful. :)

But since I am nothing if not helpful, I am willing to help you think of some. I should warn you that some might be naughty, though. ;)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I'm probably a bit too picky about costumes. :)

I think at forty I'm officially banned from naughty occupations, except on the phone! How about some occupations involving no time commitment but a healthy level of cash flow? Those are the ones I want. Then I can spend my time in ways that will make life better for me and/or for others.

[jupiter29.livejournal.com]

Haha. I was actually referring to a naughty Halloween costume. But my comment was definitely not clear. :) Regardless, I will help you think of anything naughty that you might want, because I'm just that nice. And I might as well play to my strengths. ;)

I'm afraid I don't know of any jobs that involve no time commitment. But I definitely lean toward the 8 to 5 ones. Not that I don't work hard, I do, and I certainly don't mind taking a business trip now and then or working some extra hours. But I'm too old for those 16 hour days anymore!