Have we forgotten how to slow down, enjoy daily life?
Have we forgotten how to slow down, really relax, and enjoy daily life as it rushes by? I saw a rerun of a very funny sit-com on NBC last evening that did a great parody on this theme. The episode revolved around a community college (yes, it was that sit-com) professor who was urging his students, a la Robin Williams in the movie, to “seize the day”!
In real life, have we forgotten how to do that? Are we such slaves to the pace of high-tech life and living that we simply don’t know how to stay “in the moment” and enjoy each day? Are we in such desperate need of immediate gratification that we simply have no patience for anything? We look for “instant” and quick action in every area of our lives, from demanding an instant life insurance quote to rudely taking cell phone calls and text messaging in the middle of a meal with friends.
A friend reminded me not long ago that 30 seconds used to seem like a short span of time. But in today’s world, with instant on/instant off electronics and high-speed Internet access, 30 seconds seems like an eternity to us, doesn’t it?
I don’t have an easy answer to all this. I’m convinced that we all rush around too much and have forgotten those old cliches about taking time to smell the roses. I just hope we can all find a few minutes each day, especially during the hustle and bustle of holidays, for some “quiet time” or time to settle back and enjoy a big whiff of those roses!
Insurance of all sorts is really a mystery to me
I have a confession, of sorts — I once went through some study courses and passed a state test to be qualified to sell insurance. I even signed on (commission-based only; I earned nothing) very briefly as an insurance agency with a legitimate insurance company which was trying to open a new branch in our community.
Having said all that, I must tell you, that was long enough ago — and my heart and passion really weren’t in such a career — that I am almost totally ignorance about every sort of insurance. If you were to ask me, “what affects life insurance rates?” I would honestly tell you I dunno. Maybe the phases of the moon? If you were to ask me, “why did my homeowners insurance rate go up after that storm?” I’d probably tell you the same thing.
Well, of course, I have my suspicions on how all that works, based on my own experience. But I have not the slightest “insider” information about insurance and insurance rates. I’m a confused and frustrated layman about it all, just like most of you reading this.
I have my suspicions that 99 percent of what we pay for insurance goes mostly into lining the pockets and puffing up the bank accounts of a whole lot of insurance company fat cats — but, that’s probably just cynicism. Probably.
Not always easy to see problems as ‘opportunities’
Sometimes I feel like someone wearing Christian Louboutin shoes who’s living in a Reebok casual shoe world: limping along gamely but dropping toward the back of the race.
I recently had my eyes examined and ordered new glasses. This was my first eye exam and pair of new glasses in about five or six years. I’m at an age when my eyes really aren’t going to get much worse (and certainly not any better), so I simply haven’t gotten regular eye exams lately.
But my trusty frames were finally starting to wear out, threatening to disintegrate simply from age.
First, I made an appointment for the eye exam, at a place my son highly recommended. But I got an appointment with the OTHER optometrist, not the one he recommended. I was told the glasses would take about five to seven business days to be ready, but they took almost two weeks.
I put the new glasses on yesterday for the first time, only to find my vision through them was noticeably poorer than with the five to six year old pair.
I know it’s important to see “problems” or trouble as challenges and opportunities. But when you’ve just laid out nearly $300 and have trouble seeing ANYTHING, it’s really hard to appreciate the opportunity. I don’t know about you, but 300 bucks is a serious chunk of money on my budget.
I found it helpful to take some deep breathes, remain calm, and explain step-by-step to the optometrist’s technician just what was wrong with the new glasses.
Things are working toward a happy ending, however: The company’s guarantee is good and they are honoring it. I had a re-exam, and this time they arranged an exam with the optometrist my son had recommended. She did an incredible, much more thorough job with the exam.
And while I was getting a “redo,” the company helped me find frames that fit me better than the ones I had picked out — frames which proved to be $40 cheaper!
Guess the problem really was an opportunity.
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