simple life...simple pleasures...

every nite before i go to sleep...i say my prayers...not on my knees on the edge of the bed as i did as a child...but lying there on my back in bed in a darkened room...and since i say them silently...i try to move my lips ever so slightly...just in case God is watching... ;o)

i have much to be thankful for...and so i try to remind myself of this every nite by thanking Him...i have an amazing family...and extended family and a big group of friends that i absolutely adore...i also always say thank you for where, when, and how i grew up...often, this last little thought will send me trailing off into the winding road of reverie and i will get altogether sidetracked piecing together parts of my childhood and my life...

my parents immigrated to the united states for the sole purpose of a better life for the children that they would one day have...and although my life was wonderful...my parents always instilled in me a sense of the world around me...how others lived...and to be thankful for everything that i have...

so here it comes...me going into another tangent... ;o) please bear with me...

despite the statistics that show america having a substantially higher standard of living than other countries...i'm not sure the numbers tell the whole story...

i have been fortunate to visit argentina where my family is from...several times...as well as many other beautiful countries in this beautiful world...and from it...i saw an america that i love that was a bit disillusioning and disappointing to me...while other countries were revealing and inspirational...

i have seen...to be blunt...that a soulless capitalism is turning us into an indistinguishable crowd of superficial materialists...our goals of endless consumption...our fascination with shallow humans and their crass endeavors...our insatiable desire to own more at cheaper prices...and our sense that materialism is the sole total of success...are false goals that are having the opposite affect on the quality of our lives than we had intended...we are so close to this dangerous and illusive mountain of shallow consumption that we cannot see that there is no way down yet nothing awaiting us at the top...

we americans - and of course, these are generalizations although i include myself without hesitation...can't seem to stop consuming...whether it is food, trends, or products...we always need more...as a result...we are fat, lazy, and depressed...places like italy, france, south america and so many others..do not have an over abundance of overweight people...they socialize in their towns by walking about and seeing one another...they don't just sit in their chairs watching entertainment tonight...

and whatever we need...from food to toys...we seem to lust for more...so costco gives us 20 pound bags of tortilla chips to eat while we are watching one of our five televisions...in other countries...the focus is on eating well rather than eating more...on interacting with their community rather than shutting themselves up in their homes...and in supporting their small locally owned stores rather than shopping in faceless, national megastores...

we are obsessed with the pitiful icons of our society who are wrapped in the self-destruction of their lives...instead of reading books, we read celebrity magazines about out-of-control, arrogant, uncaring idiots...we follow their lives and forget to examine our own...we focus on their six marriages rather than focusing on our own children, our spouses, our family and friends...

we learn from them that there is no shame in being 16 and pregnant or of dumping your spouse after one month of marriage...in general...as we look up to these celebrities...we debase ourselves...as they show us that anything and everything is okay...we lower our standards and moral and ethical codes...

for many americans...shopping and buying are their sole pursuit and source of happiness...too many of us have come to believe that "more" is always better...we have fallen into the trap of quantity over quality...this analogy follows us through our daily shopping: bigger plates of food...more pairs of shoes... (i can't believe i just wrote that!) increased number of toys for the children...and well...frankly for the adults...and yet...we must have the lowest price for each good or item...and so...our obsession with chinese-made products...cheap, poorly made but plentiful...may solve our desire to own as much as possible in the short run...but likely...will not help us find fulfillment in the long term...

in many countries...there seem to be fewer of everything...but of higher quality and greater appreciation...there are beautiful small stores with the owners on hand to help you...but nary a "big box" store do you see...people actually buy fresh vegetables, and meat, and wine for that very day rather than take away cheap huge loads of costco goods...you do not see a lot of "made in china" tags in italy, france or south america...they actually make most of their own goods! and what a joy it was to go into a shop and be able to be pleasantly helped rather than walking the concrete floors of home depot...

i am afraid we have come to define our success by the level of our consumption and possessions rather than the positive qualities of our lives...working to provide a quality and healthful lifestyle for our families in a wonderful american ethic...but to seek ever-increasing levels of materialism as a life's goal is to see a a void that can never be filled...

in my travels...i have seen a dignity in life and a quality of living that i don't see here...and a lot of that dignity and quality of life is because of a population that focuses on their families and their communities...of living with quality assuming stature over quantity...of tradition over trendiness...because of my love for this country...it gave me pause...i feel like we are on the wrong path...we need to evaluate our lifestyle and make some changes as necessary...we have all that is necessary to have a quality, meaningful life...now, we just need to do it...

so back to my prayers each nite ;-)

i say my silent prayer...hitting the imaginary delete key on all the parenthetical thoughts along the way...the filtered version of it is a big thank you for teaching me at an early age the importance of simple pleasures and knowing somewhere down deep that marveling at the wonder of it all and being grateful for all the small things will somehow, someday, make the big things better...dwelling on all the negativity that surrounds us does not lead anywhere...contrary to elementary math principles...two negatives...in real life...do not make a positive...

as someone once said...some people feel the rain: others just get wet...