Meaningfulness... and Practicality!
For most of my adult life, I have been wrestling with the difficult question/issue of pursuing a life that feels truly meaningful and the practical aspects of life.
It's like that the single factor that makes this a challenge is that I am what people generally call a "dreamer." That is to say, I tend to believe in things that may sound lovely, but generally aren't all that practical in the world we live in.
Our son was visiting from Seattle, for Thanksgiving. He had with him some gaming tech gadget that he asked if I could help him sell on eBay as he doesn't actually have an eBay account... and my "industrial grade" account is 25+ years old.
As a long-time seller on eBay, I have definitely seen this-and-that, but listing our son's device for sale and watching it sell at a premium price within 12 hours was an eye-opener.
Whereas I understand that the world of gaming is a huge industry, it is beyond me why anyone would spend so much money on gaming gear... but they wouldn't even spend $20 on a piece of art, or anything that might give their life an element of depth and beauty.
It was something I struggled with, back when I ran art galleries, too.
People would come in, appreciate some piece of work, but then had to go away to think about it because spending $100 was a big deal for them. How did they approach "thinking about it?" By going across the street and spending $100+ on a fancy dinner, without even blinking twice.
Even when I was quite young, I remember my mother constantly fussing at me because I was not very practical in my preferences, and what I felt like I was going wanting to do with my life, as an adult.
My parents were eminently practical in their choices... heck, even their marriage was more "practical" than anything else.
In the end, it didn't last.
Whereas I am pretty sure they had a solid and secure life, I am not convinced that I can sincerely say that they enjoyed their life.
Which leaves us with the unanswered question of what truly matters to us. To each of us.
As I rapidly approach what many would call "retirement age" I have grown increasingly aware that I never really cared much for practicality... instead choosing meaningfulness, whenever I could.
Much as I don't feel like it should be this way, our world is surprisingly structured to reward practicality much higher than meaningfulness. Which is likely why artists tend to famously starve while engineers and doctors make all the money.
Whereas I might be sad that my choices have generally left me on the (financially) poorer end of the spectrum, I can't say that I have any regrets about valuing meaningfulness most. Life has unfolded pretty much as it was supposed to.
Even as I write these words, I recognize that I could be doing something more practical with my time than writing a blog post on Steemit... but I just don't want to. And if the "price" of that choice means "beans and rice," then so be it.
We all have to learn to be honest about our priorities... and willing to pay the "price" of our choices!
Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful Sunday!
How about you? What are your priorities? Do you choose practicality first? Or is meaning more important? Or do you have a completely different criterion? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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Created at 2024.12.01 00:20 PST
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