Alan Fox

My father turned 18 in 1932 during the heart of the Great Depression. I learned from him at an early age that money was both scarce and important.

Even when I was only twelve years old and my weekly allowance was sixty cents, I always saved some of it, and was very careful in spending the rest. I was so frugal, in fact, when I was 23 a friend asked me why I didn’t occasionally splurge on some unnecessary indulgence.

“It’s not the $20.00,” I said, “but the $1.50 a year I would lose in interest for the rest of my life.”  He probably thought I was nuts.

But as careful as I was, I still occasionally lost money, usually because I was taken advantage of, but also because I sometimes bought items that I later regretted. It goes without saying that I was upset about money much of the time. (Like whenever I was awake.)

I finally decided that the stress wasn’t worth it, so I gave myself a “budget” of $10,000 a year with which to indulge in things I didn’t need or to lose to someone who wasn’t honest.

This probably didn’t save much, if any, money, but it did buy me peace of mind. From that day to this I have not kept track. I think I remained within my budget, but more importantly, I know I have felt a lot better about my life without worrying about how I spend every dime.

So if something you’re doing in your life bothers you on more than an occasional basis, I recommend that you develop your own personal strategy to deal with it, as I did with spending money.

As far as I know, the purpose of life is to enjoy it, and not to make your children wealthy.  (Note:  many of them may read this. And comment.)

At the moment I’m seated for lunch on a cruise ship. Paid for (drum roll please) from my savings.

Sorry, kids.

Alan

As you probably know, our universe has been around for more than three billion years.  While I’m able to think in terms of millions of people or millions of dollars, I admit that I have no real concept of what a billion is.  Let’s just say it’s a very long time, especially when compared to a single human lifespan.

As you also probably know, human beings have been around for several hundred thousand years. But it’s easy to forget that many tools we enjoy today have not always been available to us.

How about electricity?  Usable electricity is a relatively recent innovation, and one I think we should appreciate more than we do. From transportation to artificial lights to central heating and air conditioning, electricity is the common thread.  Can you imagine what life would be like without it?  And yet, electricity has only been available for use since the days of Thomas Edison (1847-1931).  He developed many devices for electric power generation, as well as mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures.

So where am I going with this?

I think we should appreciate the technological advantages of living in our world today. Human ingenuity and creativity have engineered so many conveniences that we now take for granted. For example, most of us enjoy watching television, and yet it only became a part of our culture during my lifetime. Before that people had to sit around the living room and talk to one another.  Horrors!  When my father was born (in 1914) radios were not in general use, there were no interstate highways, and people walked to their place of worship on Sundays or travelled in a horse-drawn buggy.

I have no idea what the future will bring, but I do believe that each of us should strongly appreciate the fact that today we seldom have to climb five stories of stairs (that’s what elevators are for) and we can drive home safely – at seventy miles an hour – even when it’s dark. I for one enjoy watching football on TV, and I love being able to take a hot shower every day.

And so, if you’re looking for something more to appreciate in your life, I hereby nominate Electricity!

Hip hip, hooray!

Alan

Today, I’m scheduled to enjoy my monthly lunch with one of my sons.  As I shared a few weeks ago, at a recent lunch, he noted that if we see each other once a month for the next eight or ten years, that will only be about 100 more visits in my lifetime.

Ouch!  That idea woke me up. Am I doing everything I can to make every moment count?

There are many aspects of life that we take for granted.  For me those include good health, the abundance of healthy food and safe drinking water and all the other necessities for living well that I am lucky to have access to. I am secure in my thinking that my comfortable life will continue forever.  Well, if not forever then at least for a long time.

While it’s easy for me to say, “nothing will last forever,” it’s another matter entirely for me to believe that everything I know will end. Because that is much sooner than I would like.

We can respond to life’s limitations by fighting against them – but ultimately, we will lose.  Or we can keep in mind that our time on earth is limited, and our job is to find our personal niche and occupy it with as much joy and satisfaction as we can muster out of every moment.

I have six biological children, whose occupations include doctor, lawyer, and college professor, yoga instructor, editor and therapist.  I’ve been an accountant, attorney, and for many years a real estate investor.  When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a writer, and as an adult I published five books and founded a prestigious literary journal. While lately, the only writing I’ve been doing regularly is this blog, for more than ten years, and I’ve never missed a week.

I invite you to consider your niche in life.  Have you found it?  Do you occupy it most of the time?  Does it bring you happiness and satisfaction? My younger brother, who died way too young at the age of 60, made a career out of being a kid.  I think he preferred the company of seven-year-olds to the company of adults.  “Kids have more fun,” he once told me.

If you have found your niche, I applaud you.  If you still have a way to go, I encourage you to keep looking, because finding your personal niche is worth —

Everything.

Alan