As a kid, I learned the
value and importance of savings from my parents, especially my father. We
wanted for little, but lived tightly. When I was in 6th grade these air pump
shoes were very popular and very expensive for the time ($80-$100). The shoes
were supposed to inflate a bit when compressing this round bubble emblem and
give an advantage when playing basketball. I wanted shoes like that. Not
because I was athletic or anything of the sort, but because they were neat and
different. My parents couldn't afford nor did I expect them to buy such shoes
for me to wear for the school year. So at a discount store we happened upon a
generic version of the air pumps. I wore them to school with glee and was made
fun of because they had no effect like the real things. I would never have
thought to tell or complain to my parents about it. I knew, understood, and
respected that we were on a budget. Sharing that I was made fun of for having
those knock-offs would have only embarrassed my parents --- and I knew that at
a young age.
My brother however, by
the age of 5 or 6 had become so spoiled that when it was my birthday my mother
decided to gift him a small cheap gift. The gift she chose was a candy bar.
When we were opening gifts, my brother opened his and cried out “It’s A CANDY
BAR!” and a hysterical temper tantrum followed.
Nowadays, I’m in my
thirties and I look around at all these man-made devices and the current
generation of want and must have and the get the next best thing way of
American life. I wonder if this modern life is for me. I’ve often felt like I
might have been born into the world a few years or even a decade too late based
on my likings. We are living unnaturally in a man-made world with trappings
that imitate life and our essence. Underneath the mainstreaming of our desires we
secretly and subconsciously crave simplicity, desperately.
I think back to my
childhood and remember all the summers of playing on my grandparent’s farm. They
were poor but completely supported themselves, self-sufficient and again wanted
for nothing. I think about my
grandmother’s very simple life as a widow and I envy her way of life, in a way.
She woke up before dawn, did her daily chores, made meals for family, and would
write poetry while staring out the window when by herself to pass the time.
Television and no other media distraction was ever a part of her life. My
grandparents had a TV; they just never turned it on. I remember my grandmother
saying the people on TV were silly.
How we want to live
changes from decade to decade. Our wants, our needs, our expectations, our
priorities all change. Life can be many
things. What I want now is the simplicity and gratitude of it.
