What are the things you really remember in life? What are the things that bring you the most happiness?
For about a decade, I lived in a town in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. In fact, our small rented house was in what Forbes called the wealthiest ZIP code in America, until they were knocked off by a wealthier counties. In case you were wondering, we were not — affluent that is. Working simple jobs we sponged off the beauty and the order of a wealthy town while contributing very little to it’s coffers.
Around spring break it was always uncomfortable for my kids, who counted Sam Walton’s grandkids and Harrison Ford’s son and other well-heeled offspring as their friends. These children of privilege would venture off to the Fiji Islands or the Caribbeans or the Hamptons for their spring break. For the Rupert family, the best we could do was the $14 a night campground at a National Forest, or if they were lucky, a couple of nights in a motel on the way to the campground
There was one vacation that was different. I designed a website for my 20th class reunion and somehow it won the grand national prize from Compuserve. We all went to Disney World along with a Caribbean cruise. We were living large for a few days. But then it was back to reality.
I’m sure my kids at times wished their granddad had opened a string of discount stores or their mother was a famous movie star. Heck, one of the rich kid’s dad was a potato chip and snack food king. Talk about envy! They probably felt ripped off as I put my uniform on to go to the Post Office and drove my International with smoke coming out the back.
Now that we have a few years between those days and now, the kids can say those were the best days of their lives. That big Disney vacation? They hardly remember it. They do however remember throwing rocks in the pond and the dog swimming in the lake and the time the bed collapsed in the trailer. They remember the bear raiding our picnic lunch and the moose chasing the car. They remember playing trucks on the deck in the snow and scooping mud out of a flooded garage and the time I lost my keys while sledding. They remember the simple, the base, and the pure.
t makes me wonder how to spend the rest of our days?. Should we jump off cliffs, snorkel in uncharted waters and experience forgotten cultures? Should we lounge in luxurious resorts and dine finely?
Culture often uses the phrase, YOLO (You Only Live Once) as a catch-phrase for doing remarkable things. “Since I only have one life, I might as well drive 100 on the mountain pass,” says the illogical logic.
You might have a Bucket Lists and have big plans for all the things you’ll do before you drop off this planet. But if you do all of them, if every single item is scratched off, are you really that happy?
Should we pursue the extraordinary, the events we can capture on our camera and show to all of our friends? Or should we pursue peace, and righteousness and
purpose. In the end, what really matters?
I am finding I gain much more from simple pleasures and that’s how I want to define my life. A good book. Peaceful family experiences. A kind word from those who care for me. A carrot dug out of the garden. A walk in the woods on a misty morning. A deer in the meadow at last light. Understanding that God loves me — just because.
What makes you happy and why?
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