Ethyl's thoughts: The Great Lie

It is the great lie of our age.  The belief that happiness is dependant on what we are able to gain possession of in our short life spans. Also the thought that a person's worth is determined by what they own.  In fact, a person's personal possessions are often spoken of as their net worth. 

When you think about it, some of the greatest, most significant, people who have ever lived on earth have been worth very little financially.  The best example, of course, is Jesus Christ.  He said foxes have dens and birds of heaven have roost, but the son of man has nowhere to lay down his head.  When he died the only thing he possessed of any value was an outer garment.  The soldiers cast lots to determine which of them would get it.

Another person of great talent and artistic ability was Van Gogh, yet he died penniless.  In fact, in his entire life time he only sold one painting, and yet today his artwork sells for millions of dollars.  Makes you wonder why the value of some people is determined only after they die.

Our age could rightly be termed 'the age of materialism'.   So often today people spend money they don't have to buy things they don't need to impress people they don't like.  And in the end none of it makes them happy.  They end up with a bunch of junk that will either go in the garbage or to the good will store in a few years.  And the great lie continues.  "I will build a house and it will make me happy".  In a short while the new wears off and then the lie goes one step further.  "I will build a bigger house, and that will surely make me happy and fulfilled".   Cycle continues.  In a few years, "I will build still a bigger house, surely that will do the job".   It stands to reason that somewhere along the way they would get smart and determine their pursuit of happiness had somehow taken a detour.  No matter how big a house you build or how fancy a car you drive, it's not going to be long before someone comes along with a bigger, better model.

The first year my husband and I were married we had a little green Corvair sports car and everyday going to work we passed a car lot that had the car of my dreams.  It was a 1968 Chevy Caprice.  And everyday I would remark to my new husband just how much I would like to own  that car.  I didn't realize how bad that made him feel.  It was years later when I finally realized how much he wanted to buy that car for me.  In a couple of years we did trade up to a Chevy Impala, but it was years later before we finally bought a Chevy Caprice.  By then the body style had changed so much it didn't even look like the same car.  Anyway, to make a long story short, we passed a junk yard some time later and there was a car exactly like the one I had pined for in our early years together.  Sitting in a junk yard, rusting and returning to the elements.  And suddenly I realized something that has stayed with me the rest of my life.  Things don't last.  Knowledge can stay with you a lifetime, so take the time and effort to acquire knowledge of worthwhile things.  Relationships can last a lifetime if they are properly cultivated and nurtured, so take the time, energy, and effort to develop as many friendships as you can with people whose friendship is worth having.  There are three kinds of people on earth.  Superior people focus on ideas and principals, they have deep spiritual values, are morally upright and trustworthy, unselfish, and truly interested in the other person.  Ordinary people are more interested in things: things they can buy and sell, things they can accumulate, things that can be owned.  They may or may not have your interest at heart.  That will depend on how the outcome will effect them personally.  And thirdly, there are people who need to be avoided at all cost.  People who are self centered and arrogant, interested only in themselves and what you might be able to do for them.  Avoid such people at all cost.  They will literally suck all the happiness and life out of you, and then after they have totally used you up, throw you away without a second thought.

When I was young the thought that someone might not approve of me or like me was of great concern to me.  As I've grown older I've come to realize no matter how hard I try there will always be people who simply don't like me or approve of me.  And you know what.  It just does not matter in the least.  I guess that is one benefit of growing older.  You come to be at peace with who you are and what you are.  And I also discovered another amazing thing.  The people who decided they did not want me to be a part of their lives did me a great favor by removing themselves, for they were, for the most part, arrogant, selfish, self centered individuals I would not really want to be friends with anyway.

Those that have remained over the years have been people I would put in the first class.  Superior people of moral integrity, honest, loyal, and trust worthy.  Don't grieve over the ones in your past who are no longer a part of your life.  There is a reason they didn't make it to your future.  As you age, you learn what qualities to look for in people and how to identify the ones you want to remain in your life.  And I have been so blessed, for my life has been filled with many such ones.