More On Living With Hope

Have you ever wondered why "successful" people wind up hooked on drugs or alcohol? They seem to have everything one could want. An ability to go where they want, eat want they want, do what they want and when. Yet lots of lotto millionaires wind up totally broke and in trouble. I think it stems from a human desire to always expect or demand something new, something different. I am rich so I deserve the best. I will yell, scream and cry to get my way, I am owed that because I am wealthy and deserve it.
I have been up and I have been down. At one time I made lots of money, much more than I really needed. I also have been very down as I have related here before. My grand father who was a fairly wealthy man, would always shoot me little pieces of his wisdom. His main one "everything in moderation Gary" . Probably the best advise I have ever got. There were times in my life when I didn't listen to that advise, and wound up in trouble.
At one time I diagnosed OJ Simpsons car. That white Bronco that became so famous. He had it all, a beautiful wife and home in the Hollywood Hills. Today he is in prison over dumb shit, and has lost everything. Though hardly rich, today I am secure, happy, productive and free.
Some of the happiest people I have known have the least, you seldom see Buddhist monks or Catholic priests walking around frowning.

 The joy of life, and successful living comes from accepting what we have, finding simple joys everyday,and taking nothing for granted. I have been fortunate to have traveled some, seen things that few have seen. But I have a gut feeling that if I did that everyday, it would not have the impact of "special" that it does in my mind. I have learned to accept that sometimes life is boring, That I really should never get everything I might want, and that some suffering is good-for the heart, the mind and ones soul.
Everyday I work for others who right now, have more than I do. Yet they look to me sometimes to brighten them up, or make there day a tiny bit better. They have created so much complexity in their life, that finding happiness eludes them. They start to drink hard or do drugs and then slide into a form of oblivion that often times they never get out of. Instead of wishing you were rich, try thinking smaller. Some of the happiest times in my life were really simple, like just playing cards with my great grand mother. Or rowing an old rowboat across a lake. You do not have to be rich to be happy. Just be grateful for what you do have. And smile with the knowledge that yes, God Does Love You.
-Gary