A lot of things are on the minds of fellow citizens. For some it is rent, or mortgage payments paid on time. For others it is car payments, insurance, grocery bills and utilities. Those are just the financials. Then there are doctor appointments, pharmacy pickups, cooking meals, packing school lunches, and getting the kids off to school on time. a host of duties and chores to do in a life already busy with jobs, commuting and planning for the future.
Heaped on top of those issues are these: coping with technology and both its gifts and headaches; global warming and climate change; immigration and all of its complexities; healthcare access and affordability; taxes, fees and government costs; elections and their attendant noise; education access and affordability; governance challenges and understanding a voter’s options; social issues and their impact on our lives; and so many more issues to track and understand.
Then there are the personal things that matter: social interaction, love life, relaxation, travel, reading for fun and inspiration, and music and the arts. Concerns over health, education and getting ahead in life, not just in career, these too, are personal burdens often pondered.
The mountain of important matters exists for all of us. We are not alone in this struggle. Each of us is on a personal journey of engagement and survival. We have much to think about, weigh and decide, moment by moment, what is most important and what lesser. The priorities often shift – deadlines near and passed for some, others have moments of importance thrust upon us. Wending our way through this minefield of life is daunting and exhausting.
That’s when the arts and relaxation come to our rescue, and our love life.
What is truly important and what not? What to spend time and attention on and what not? Which to spend resources on and which not? Choices. Always choices. Energy spent to make choices. If this one topic is attended to, which ones are not?
And so it goes. A blithering array of issues that constantly pull at us. We often don’t have the time, patience, knowledge or resources to handle these demands of life. We punt; put off; ignore; or make bad choices. The agenda is presented and we execute however we do. Consequences emerge eventually; sometimes quickly, other times slowly.
This is the business of our lives. We have no choice but to do what we can.
Into all of this we need to focus on the big issues that matter. Who we choose to handle the big issues for us is crucial if those issues are to be managed well. Electing informed, principled people to activate our governance system is vitally important. Do that well and much of our priorities will be accomplished appropriately.
Busy lives require attention to detail to get as much right as we can. Please take the time to fulfill civic duties well.
But remain balanced in all of the above to be happy. Live. Love. Laugh.
December 16, 2019
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