Got Money ?

I am always curious and fascinated by people with money. I am not talking about people with simple gainful employment in which they earn a modest salary with a somewhat copious amount of vacation pay and some undistinguishable formulation of a 401k, picturesque yet humble abode that houses 2.5 children and a chocolate lab. I am talking Money. Serious, “move out of the way of my completely gratuitous, leather clad, gasoline-swilling Escalade, I am so late for my Mani -Pedi, Money”. Oh, you know exactly what I am referring to. You can hear them coming and inwardly recoil as you get behind them in line at Starbucks because there will most assuredly be some sort of verbal assault on the completely unsuspecting barista smiling gleefully behind the counter. What makes people different? Does it matter how much you have? I mean really. Happiness, as it turns out, cannot be measured in dollars, I have tried. I bet you have too. Money as it seems, is something that seems to be grossly misconstrued as having the ability to satiate the internal voracity of the heart. So often, we place money and things before the people that we leverage unimaginable strength from. We plunge headlong into the quest for attainability and wealth when the peace that we long so desperately for is only precluded by our indifference and disregard for those closest to us. So what is one to do? Are we all destined to be money-grubbing nickel pinchers without conscience or direction? I think that life is solely what you make it. Money or no money, we can sustain peace and love in a society of buy now pay later. Start a coin collection. You know that impossible assemblage of copper and silver coin that gravitates toward any unoccupied spot in the bottom of a purse or vehicle floorboard. Gather if you will, that small change and save it. You are certainly not using it. Once you see it collecting rather meekly in the jar on the counter you may, with some serendipity, see that not only do you not need it, but perhaps it would be better served helping someone else. And who cares if you never get that Escalade, I bet you have the most placid, undisturbed sleep that you absolutely cannot obtain with a few more dinero in your wallet. Live now, today, do not waste these precious moments chasing things, because your peace and your wallet are mutually exclusive.

Holiday Cheer

I always laugh when I walk into a store or shop of any consequence and see immediately after Halloween, Christmas decorations. What happened to Thanksgiving? Do we completely ignore our beloved day of thanks? Can we just skip the blissful traditional overindulgence in food and snooze? I think not. Bring on the Pie and cranberry sauce and if you are so inclined to partake in the cerimonial turkey, be ware of the tryptophan-induced coma that will most assuredly follow. So we overeat and sleep and overeat some more, herein lies our most decidedly "I'm starting my diet next week" Holiday. Even with the vast array of treats and sundries guaranteed to leave you groggy and longing for my favorite sweats, ultimately, I am left with the feeling that besides being awestruck at the sheer devastation that was once a heavily ladden buffet table, carefully adorned in festive, albiet somewhat kitchy decor, a simple unfettered gratitude for all things family. My eyes wander to my loved ones and I am once again reminded of how blessed I am for the incredible people that surround me and the wonderful life I have been given. I watch my family gather around eating and laughing with reckless abandon, and in that moment, all seems right in the world..

What's in a Name?

What's in a name? We put so much weight on names in our society. what to name our kids or what brand name of laundry detergent to use. Everything we do is somehow tied to a name. Does our name define us? Are we more gifted or priveledged because of our name? Hardly. I can tell you that names are tied to memories. I have met people and thought oh I once knew someone with that name and every memory, good, bad or indifferent came along with it. We attach some sort of predisposition to the names of the people around us. What if we did not have names and referred to ourselves and each other simply as "child" or "loved one" or "friend" I wonder what possibilities would await if there were no classification or distinction and we could just be who we are.