Another lesson learned while traveling

Life is hard for many reasons. These reasons seem to be independent of and synonymous with who we are. No one has it easy. It’s not difficult to observe the outward displays of life; accumulation of stuff, people, satisfaction, peace.

I ride a shuttle from where I park my car near the airport to the terminal. It’s my way of trying to control the madness I associate with the flying experience. Tonight there was no one else, just me. The drivers are usually young with a broken accent. This one was different; an older man showing the signs of age in his face, his hair bleached by the passing of time. Normally, I keep to myself; passing the short trip in silence. I ask how his day was.

This is his job; living off the tips from passengers. Sometimes a dollar to two a trip, his last one was 12 bucks. He took the opportunity to stop to pick up some cigarettes. He’s a 2 to 3 pack a day kind of guy. And he only likes the Basic brand without a filter that they only sell at the gas stations on 40th and 52nd. He recounts to me the days events; not enough for money for smokes that day he smoked his old butts at home, not enough change for a hamburger he had to only get fries for lunch.

I tipped him well tonight. Was it pity, probably so. With so much talk of oppression and victimization, this guy was my personal connection it all. Laid off, this was his last resort; so long to a golden retirement. At 15 to 20 bucks a day, his smoking habit has him by the balls. Until he kicks this addiction, he will most likely be toughing it out many days. I thank God that I have a job and a family that I love. So if I think that my day is going rough, it probably is; everything is relative.

Ya Piss Poor Morally

No one can deny that we are in the hardest economic times of recent history; unemployment is high and increasing, household wealth is down for the first time in decades, major corporations are throwing in the towel, banks are failing on a weekly basis.

It’s a solemn day here at my office. Our long time neighbors in the building, a nation engineering firm, is facing 10% staffing cuts today. I have never been fired or laid off from a job; knock on wood. I can’t imagine what that must be like. My family relies upon me to provide for them. It’s one of my personal duties that I take very seriously. To one day have that taken away from me would be devastating.

Over the past 10 years, we as Americans have enjoyed huge success and growth. The standard of living in our country is above the line of luxury in many other places in the world. Unfortunately, most of that growth and success was built on leverage. And as any college finance student can tell you, there is a limit to the advantages of debt structuring. There comes a point when too much is just too much and you will not be able to get out. Of course, it doesn’t help when we are waging a 6-year war that was advertised as a 6-12 month in and out mission.

I could go on and on about all that is bad and how they fit together, but that is not my intention. I heard the song Live Your Life by T.I. featuring Rihanna from my wife. I like this song. It has a catchy beat and the lyrics have deep meaning. One of my favorite lines in the song is ‘Seems as though you lost sight of what's important when depositing them checks into your bank account and you up out of poverty. Your values is in disarray, prioritizing horribly; unhappy with the riches 'cause you piss poor morally.’

It’s time for a reset; time to assess the motivations behind our actions.