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Health & Fitness

Remembering Yesterday

As the Christmas season draws close, take some time and reflect back on the days when you felt like life was simpler.

I grew up as a young child in the mid-60’s and early 70’s. I still can remember the days of black and white TV’s with only 3 network and 2 PBS channels available.  The picture only became clear after the rotating TV antenna on the roof in the right direction. On Saturdays, I could watch cartoons like Johnny Quest and Scooby Doo and Tom & Jerry in the mornings, but only until 12:00 noon. Because there was no such thing as the Cartoon Network. I remember watching Hee Haw on Saturday nights and The Wild Kingdom on Sunday nights. With the entire family.  I remember my mom having to dial only 5 numbers on a rotary phone to talk to someone.

And back then, people really did talk to each other. Neighbors stopped what they were doing to talk to other neighbors - and you knew all of your neighbors by the way. I remember playing outside all day long with my friends and the neighbor kids in the park, never really concerned about anything except for hoping I was on the winning kick the can or baseball team. A park that was seemingly absolutely huge and had the coolest trees to climb. I remember my mom ringing a bell at dinner time and saying my name along with my brothers and sisters name to come home for an amazing home cooked meal, where the entire family ate together and all of the food prepared was eaten without any complaints. After Dad had worked 8 hours at the local chemical factory and arrived home at the same time every day. I remember walking a mile each way to school (elementary, middle and high school) and never even thinking my parents were mean for making me do so, especially in the cold Michigan winters and the spring rains. I remember watching the Apollo moon shots and Neil Armstrong walking on the moon in July of 1969, Jimi Hendrix playing a backwards guitar, going on cross country summer camping trips with my family in a Buick station wagon when gas was 29 cents a gallon.

Life was so much simpler then, and now as a 50 year old, I look back and see that it was much more meaningful and joyful because it was not so complicated.  Sure, the whole dynamic has changed, I have responsibilities now that I didn't have then, the world has changed considerably.  But the bottom line is life is a lot more complicated now than it was then.  Technology has changed things.....and I'm haven't quite decided yet if it is for the better or worse.

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I have been very blessed with opportunity. But I worked hard to get where I am and never felt like I was owed anything or someone else was supposed to pay my way. Four years (ok, 4 ½ if I have to be completely honest) of engineering school cost me a grand total of $10,500. I paid 90 percent of that bill, working summer jobs and taking out student loans that I knew I had to repay, without question. I didn’t think a new Corvette was going to be my first car, I didn’t expect that my first place to live would be a nice home or condo, fully furnished and plush. I never thought I should be paid a 6 figure salary after graduating. I gladly accepted the hand-me-down couch and dining room table, a used stereo and TV, the dresser I had as a kid from my bedroom. I thought my 10 year old used car was very cool. I accepted that I was not able to afford a 1 month trip to Europe or the ski vacation to Colorado right away. I never gave a thought to the government meeting any of my needs. 

Our society today has become one of "I deserve it", "I'm entitled to it".  I think we all need to be reminded of what JFK said in January of 1961: "And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."

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What has happened to change us as a society from these days when things were seemingly simple and hassle free, when society expected you to be polite and cordial and chivalry was alive, when selfishness was uncommon, when you put someone else in front of your own interests and needs? Life wasn’t complicated with all kinds of distractions and information overload, cell phones, computers, text messages, e-mails, congestion and high stress levels. Sure, life back then had its share of troubles.

But not like today.

I work for a very big local company that makes airplanes. I was in a meeting this week and looked around the room at my colleagues and peers and upper management – and for some reason I noticed just how tired everyone looked. People who a year or two ago didn’t have black circles under their eyes, people who didn’t look like they had been beaten up, people who were smiling more. And I thought to myself – why is this happening? Why is the norm now a job that eats you alive, that controls your actions and thoughts? Why are we as a society letting life and time slip away without really noticing? Do most of us even like the state we are in? Are we enjoying life? Are we really happy?

As the Christmas season draws close, we become even more frazzled and things get even more hectic. But when you think about it, only because we let it and accept that it is “the way it is." This year I challenge you to take some time and reflect back on the days when you felt like life was simpler. What made them that way and what would it take to get back to that feeling? I dare say we all need a reality check.

We all need to get back to the basics.

Love your neighbor, give people around you the time of day and benefit of the doubt, give and give some more without expecting something in return. Donate your time and money to those who need it or to charity or non-profit organizations. And then try hard to connect to your loved ones and your kids. Kids who have grown up in a more chaotic and selfish society, who have learned that things you and I thought were taboo are totally acceptable, who don’t really understand what a work ethic is and what it means to think about others instead of themselves.

Take your kids away from their computer games, and turn off the TV. Spend some time with them. Play a game with them, go see a movie, take them to the Sumner pool to swim, go drive around and look at the Christmas decorations, sit down and have a meal together and talk about things. Yes, I said talk.  Without harping on them, without thrusting your frustrations on them. Without telling them what to do. Be that kid again. Get down to their level and don’t treat them any different than the way you want to be treated. Connect with them. And remember the reason we celebrate Christmas. The real reason. Think back to the days when things were simpler and relax a bit. Breathe deep and really relax. Put your feet up for a while and escape. I believe you will be a much more content person. And maybe it will spark a change that will help you turn life around again, help you realize that time is short on this earth and we as individuals, people and a country need to take back what we have lost……….no…….what we have let slip away. Do this before it is too late.

 Merry Christmas.

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