Flying home from Salt Lake the other day, I read this statement on a blog. I didn't have to stop and think about it at all. It just was my truth...instantly. There are times that I feel twinges of guilt for not having a big retirement fund, not paying off my house more quickly, not saving for the future in general. Mostly I ignore them...I hate guilt and I find it especially easy to bury my head in the sand. But sometimes they get the best of me and I spend more time than I would like worrying needlessly. Culture, I guess, brings this on us.
One of things I appreciate about the hang gliding culture is that I'm rarely less fiscally responsible than the next guy. Spending the majority of my time with like-minded (read irresponsible ;-) people tends to make me feel less like worrying about whether I'll be 70 years old and broke some day because I think to myself "at least I won't be alone in my poverty" and I remind myself that money is a renewable resource, time isn't.
The more I travel the more I realize that there is nothing that stays behind in my tiny little house that means much of anything to me. No doubt, I love my home. But home is spending time with Maxie (and his parents ;-), a game of Yatzee with mom and dad, lunch with Steve, the sound of the waves outside the door and the sticky Florida heat. I've said a hundred times that the only possessions I care about are my hang gliding equipment, camera and photos. The glider can be replaced. The camera and photos amount to little more than memories and a way to make sure my ever failing memory can be jogged. My real contentment and satisfaction come from seeing new places, meeting people and learning things about myself.
Science Daily reported recently that buying life experiences is much more likely to produce long-term happiness than buying material possessions. If time = wealthy, then I am, by a long shot, the richest person I know.
