It has been a long time since I wrote anything on this blog. It hasn’t been a conscious choice, but looking back it probably relates back to the sudden death of my mother last summer. She was my biggest blog-fan (I suppose it’s part of the job description of a mother!) and when she wasn’t there anymore my mind just didn’t seem to trigger any stories. (I was also very busy getting out the paperback version of my book – which was more time-consuming than I would have ever imagined!)
But then, all of a sudden today, I thought of a story that I felt I should share, so here it goes:
At the start of this year I went to my local bank to pick up a checkbook. The bank manager was at the counter and after handing me the checkbook he asked; “is there anything else you need?” I smiled and answered; “some more money would be nice.” He then looked at me and said: “you have love (he knows my husband) and you have good health, isn’t that the most important in life?”
Wise words, and from a bank manager on top of it. (Unconscious bias alert!)
How much time and effort do we spend on craving for “more of” something or something we don’t have yet?
Probably a fair bit, our society is built up around it. More, new, buy, success, consumption. It makes the world go around, it create jobs and money change hands. And this is a good thing. But, the flipside is that we are always wanting ‘more’, which might create inner stress and restlessness.
I’m a person who is very conscious of what I have (both what I have been given and what I have created) and I make time to appreciate it – actually every morning in my “coffee ritual”, as I call it. I’m not very motivated by having a lot of things/stuff either. But, the words of this bank manager hit me right on the spot anyway – thinking that “society has sneaked up on me after all”. He was so right, love and good health – that’s what matter – anything else is just ‘extra’ (as long as you have a roof over your head and food on the table, that is).
What about you, what is your life like? Do you live in a war-free country? Do you have 
a job (and get paid for it), a house/apartment, a car, a bicycle? Relationships? Friends? Family? Pets? Anyone who loves you? (I count my dog and cat) Does your body function pretty well? Do you go away sometimes, a weekend or a holiday? Is the air you breath relatively clean? Can you walk safely down the road – at least at day time? (No wolves, tigers or two-legged dangers ?– actually the two-legged ones are the most dangerous in my eyes)
Well, you get my drift, the list could be longer. To make sure I cover everything I am grateful for in my daily coffee-giving-thanks-ritual, I add “and all the things I am not aware of, that are just there”.
“All you need is love… and good health” – what are the things you have in your life? Do you really need more?
