An unexamined life
Socrates once said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.”
It’s been awhile since I’ve examined my life. We all get sidetracked occasionally by the minutiae of everyday existence and distracted from those people and concepts in our life that we find truly valuable. I feel like I’ve been sidetracked for the better part of five years.
I spent several years working to build up small businesses with my wife, Wendi, and also building up a portfolio as a freelance writer. Last year, we spent a lot of time closing those businesses and looking for other employment when we couldn’t weather the prolonged economic downturn in Northwest Arkansas. I told myself during all these activities that I would spend more time with my kids and take better care of myself someday when the businesses were more stable and we could afford the time.
I have a steady job now, but I’m still waiting for someday to arrive. Our society often measures personal success with a financial ruler. If you make more this year than last, then you should be doing OK. I’m not sure that’s the best way to look at things.
I’m doing pretty well right now financially, but I often get too little sleep. I eat poorly and rarely exercise. On days with little sleep and extra work stress, I’m more irritable with my kids and too tired to enjoy the all-too-short part of their day I get to share.
When I truly start examining my life, I see that more isn’t better. More house, more car, more clothes and more stuff often just leads to the need for more money (working harder/faster) to pay for it all. I need less in my life. I plan to identifying the non-essential, allow it to fall away and leave only those people and activities that matter the most to me.
I want to change, and I intend to chronicle my journey to simplification with this blog. I won’t profess to have any answers but will happily share my activities and any fortunate insights I discover along the way.