The older I get.....

... the more I find myself thinking about what is important in life:

You know, sitting here thinking, life used to be about having fun. Living moment to moment, day to day. Looking forward to that next event, party, function at school or work, trip or vacation, get-together with friends. While there is nothing wrong with any one of these things, I have noticed recently that my values have begun to change. Although I still like to have a good time, I have begun to believe that life is somehow about much more than these things.

The law of diminishing returns dictates that the thrill or excitement that we get out of something is slightly reduced each time we repeat it. Therefore, if we hope to keep the thrill or challenge as high as it once was, we need to push a little harder - add a little more - escalate the challenge a little higher. Is it simply that I have been to enough parties, taken enough trips, accomplished enough goals in business and now these things no longer motivate me the way they once did? I don't believe so. I look at friends both in real life and on facebook and many seem to very much still be living and thinking the way I once did.

Is it possible that God is working on me, trying to show me that there is much more to life than the things I used to value so highly? That's exactly what I believe it is. While I still enjoy each of those activities discussed earlier, none of those seem to motivate me like they did prior. What seems to motivate me now is simply doing my best to make a difference in people's lives. Being nice to that person who nobody else seems to be talking to, offering a kind word and a pat on the back to the physically challenged person in the wheelchair, waiting to hold the door for the mother with a child in her arms, sharing a word of encouragement and motivation to the job seeker at work who has given up finding work, etc.. Nothing glamorous by any means, but enough.

I find that God just wants me to be content with who He made me to be and to seek to be more like Him. I have no real desire to impress others with certain accomplishments, I do not need to keep pushing to make more and more money so I can have more and more stuff. If you have not realized it, the more "stuff' you have, the more worries you have. (I threw that in for free) I think maybe that I am maturing spiritually and I am enjoying that. I did not so much enjoy some of the hard lessons that I have gone through to get here but they have been worth it. I certainly have not arrived and have plenty yet to work on, more than I probably know.

Anyway, just a few of my thoughts. I'm a work in progress.

Jim