It’s an idiom of the present, we know, but it goes back hundreds of years. All things must someday come to an end. Why? That’s just the way it is. John Denver sang, “Some days are diamonds, some days are stone, sometimes the hard times won’t leave me alone.” It’s the concept that good times and bad times come and go. Sort of. Today is one way, tomorrow is another, and the future is unclear.
This past weekend, we got hit with snow! Yippee! Upwards of 18 inches and white fluffy perfection. Good Times? Sure, if you are prepared for it. Hard times? Definitely for some. For the most part, I’m a “go with the flow” kind of person. Break the heat barrier, and I’m miserable. Get too cold, throw another log on the fire…
There’s something about knowing who you are
and how you handle the throes of life.
What I say is good; well, for many, it’s thankfully coming to an end. Warmer weather. Rain 24 hours a day. Snow hardens, softens, then melts and runs to the ditches. Sad.
I Was Thinking
Of all the billions that have lived before me, some have enjoyed good times to excess. Their location, wealth, family, and opportunities put them on the top of life. At the same time, there is a disproportionate number living in the dregs. Call it the 1% club, but a rising tide does not raise all ships. Many are underwater with no hope of getting to the surface.
Is this the way life is supposed to be?
A rich man my age received the vaccination for Covid-19 a week or so back. My bride and I are on multiple waiting lists with no hope to see this come to pass in our world. Yesterday, a headline said this man’s daughter had received her vaccination. She’s less than 40 years old, not in the health profession, but she’s of a privileged “class.” Diamonds. Stone. Good times. Bad times. Some win. Many more will lose.
He and I may share the same birth year and color of skin, but I am not in his class of life. Could you imagine that many more are not in the “class” I enjoy? It’s not just a trickle-down economy; instead, it’s the multitudes of cliffs that separate one from the other—ledges with micro-thin borders that prevent all from clambering up and easy to fall down.
Every generation has shown us those who are the crema at the top of a fine cup of dark roasted coffee. Many more are the grounds lying at the bottom of the cup to be rinsed out and tossed. Even more? Those grounds in the pot are tossed once they have been wrung free of their flavor and usage.
What Is It All About?
Hard-working ethics often show where the line is drawn. Some have it. Many don’t. Some want what’s “entitled” to them, while others get out there and make a way to their success. But hard work does not guarantee success. [Read the Lyrics to 16 Tons.] There’s a little bit of luck that goes with it—right time, right place. Good choices. Learning from mistakes. Sticktoitiveness. Go with the flow or fight against the slippery slope to the bottom. Find a mentor, coach, or success partner.
All the buzz words exist. But it really comes down to you, being in the right place at the right time. Recognizing the possibility. Then, striking while the iron is hot!!
At the same time, you look down the road to see what’s the next place to be for continued growth and success. There are market bubbles and crashes that happen to the best of everyone, but destroy those who are at the bottom of life.
This is the key. Life is always headed one way or the other. You need to understand the path, or at least, how to get on the best path. One wrong choice and the ill-prepared person slips down the chute and begins all over from the bottom… Chutes and Ladders, anyone? No golden parachute or glider to a safe landing. It’s often a crash and burns—brutal endings.
How Do We Change It?
I’m sure many know the path to a better today and a brighter tomorrow. Think about those who have no wants in their life. Yet, they don’t necessarily want to give. Hand out’s often work in the short term. It’s not giving hand-outs that work all the time. Rather, it’s giving a hand-up. Lifting others to a better way, and they, in turn, help someone along their path.
Still, the better path would begin a long time before someone reaches that adult life where all their choices have already been made for them. We know this to be the truth. Give someone a fish, and you’ve fed them for the immediate need. But if you don’t teach them to fish for themselves, they will keep coming back for more. The younger they are when they receive the lesson, the better they should care for their needs later in life!
In my way of thinking this morning, the Needs vs. Wants, the Have’s vs. HaveNot’s, the advantage from the disadvantage. We’ve watched those “with” destroying their opportunities and those “without“rising out of the ashes through the years.
I have also watched those who are blessed with so little not hesitating to bless someone else with the few loaves and fishes they have. Parable? Perhaps. Are we doing it? Not often enough.
Perhaps the only way to make change? Be the change we want to see.
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”
~Albert Einstein