I have never been driven by money nor have I ever been tempted with material possessions.  When I see people who want, want , want, I feel sorry for them.  They desire for things that have no real value; things that will one day rot in a landfill or junk yard.  I desire for things that have lasting value-friendship, love, compassion, etc.

Evelina and I have nice things, but I could be as content living in a 500 sq ft cinder block building.  The only thing I must have is reliable transportation so a 1988 Honda Accord will do just fine.

When I observe people who are enamored with “stuff” I usually find someone who is a bit empty inside.  They are trying to fill a void internally with stuff externally and it will never, ever work to fill that emptiness.

It seems there’s a lot of emptiness going around.

I am really bothered with so much in the world lately and there doesn’t seem like there’s much anyone can do to change anything.  The government is so big and does as it pleases.  Extremists on the right and left are in a contest to see who can puke their vileness on humanity the fastest.  The majority of Americans are moderate, yet all I hear about on the news are ultras.  The media is constantly pushing their agenda AND they might be the biggest hypocrites in the United States.

After typing that first paragraph I’m beginning to think it is time to unplug for a week or more to decompress and purge all the internet junk from my mind.  That is my observation for today…

I think it is time to unplug.

There was a time when I would never use sick days.  In the golf business there wasn’t an opportunity to use sick time because there was no replacement staff; no one to call to come in to work.  I would go to work sick and wore my dedication like a badge of honor.  What I did not realize was that I wasn’t doing myself or anyone else any great favor by being “dedicated”.

Now I understand that sick time is designed to be used and for a few good reasons: 1. When your body doesn’t feel well it needs rest, and 2. You need to be respectful of others when you don’t feel well.  The former is self-explanatory.  But the latter is one of those things I never thought of until I got someone else sick and they got mad at me.

A few years back I went to work sick.  One of my fellow employees who was pregnant at the time made one of those comments like “If I get sick because of you I’m going to be mad.  You need to go home.”  Of course I didn’t go home and as you can imagine by now, she got sick.  And she was mad.  She took her time off work and then yelled at me for not being more considerate and staying home.  Her point was valid and I hadn’t thought about how unfair it was to others to walk around spreading my germs.

Part of being human is about relationships with other humans and being considerate; considering the feelings and views of others when making decisions.  It doesn’t take much effort to stop and evaluate how your actions might impact another human and I highly recommend doing so from time-to-time.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday!