Do You Take Things For Granted?

Tweet

What does that really mean? Aldous Huxley said: "Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted." To me, it means to just be perfectly satisfied with the way things are and have no desire to make any changes, no matter what your circumstances are. I've heard people say: "If it is meant to be, it will be." I don't accept that way of thinking at all. Do you? It could also mean to some people that they take what they own for granted, assuming that they will always have it, but that can change, sometimes in just a heartbeat of time. You could go from rich to poor, or poor to rich overnight. I try not to take anything for granted. Who knows what tomorrow might bring. Right now, I'm fairly satisfied with the way things are in my life, but if I weren't, I would make an effort to change things. I would do whatever I could to make things better . There are a few things that I AM changing though. I'm changing my attitude about working as hard as I used to. Being retired is wonderful, but it's a little new to me. I'm used to being busy with my jewelry business. Who do I need to call? or E-mail? I was used to having the phone ring many times during the day and evening and would have 40 or 50 emails to answer every day. Not any more. I also had paperwork to do and orders to write and submit and sales meetings and events to plan, etc. etc. Not any more. So, here's the funny part. I get up in the morning now and say: "OK, What is on my "to do" list for today? And then I remember that I'm retired and I really don't have anything that I HAVE to do. I wound down my business slowly, still selling part time for awhile and then had a BIG final sale this past FALL and then I was done with it almost entirely. A few of my good customers still call me, but not very often. They find out that I'm retired and I direct them to another person. I have plenty of other things to keep me busy now, but nothing that is pressing down on me like it was before. No deadlines to meet. No quotas to reach. Whew! What a relief! So, I made a small "to do" list. Cards I should get in the mail. Letters I could write to friends that live away from me. I'm still working on my photo albums and have a few more copies to make, so I can share with my brothers who have been asking for them. Reading and resting. Writing on MyLot. Hmmm. It's soooooo nice. The telephone is not ringing all day long. But, I say to myself. "I deserve this. I've worked all my life. It's time to take it easy." And that's just what I'm doing. I just haven't gotten used to it yet. I know that some of you are retired too and some of you are still working every day. What is your day like? What do you do to relax? Do you take things for granted or are you willing to work for a better way of life, if you are not happy with the way things are?