I used to host this and a couple of other blogs—one personal and one about cigars—on a small provider in Canada. They were acquired just before the pandemic, and the pricing was… well, shocking, to say the least. So, I decided to move my blog (and domain names) to WordPress (WP). I’ve been using WP since around the time it first appeared in 2003, after I gave up trying to code all my blog entries with self-learned HTML, PHP, and a smattering of CSS.
One of the interesting features of WordPress is the daily writing prompts. They publish about 5-6 prompts daily that you can use to inspire a post. This can sometimes help alleviate writer’s block, particularly if you stick to a narrow topic. While I’m aiming this blog to focus on technology and adult learning (both somewhat narrow in focus), I believe adding my personal thoughts once a week on a different topic can also be helpful.
Today’s Writing Prompt: What does “having it all” mean to you?
The reality is, we are more than the technological jobs we do (at least, I hope we are!). The idea of “having it all” often stems from a financial and/or capitalist mentality. For every human, there are basics that MUST be met for survival: food, water, shelter, education, safety, and healthcare (the last one tends to be exempt in the US).
Growing up, I always thought “having it all” meant having a fancy car, fancy clothes (particularly huge shoulders), and credit cards. Oh, the gullibility of the ’80s.
Of course, as we get older, reality hits (and rather hard). We have to do things like grocery shop, maintain our home (whether rented or bank-owned), keep ourselves current in our work knowledge, maintain relationships, and so on.
For me, that aging process—besides lessening my need for shampoo—made me more aware that my definition of “having it all” changed. Sure, I’d love to win the lottery and retire tomorrow, but as my wife often tells me, that’s a fool’s tax and I’m unlikely to win. To be honest and blunt, I’m actually quite happy with what I have (sure, I’d love my mortgage to be paid off, but that will happen eventually).
I have the basics plus flexibility in additional choices: I can subscribe to any streaming service (my own choice of entertainment), play Warcraft, eat healthily, have someone else clean, and have someone cook (my wife’s best friend is staying with us and helping by making meals most nights). We live in a place where locking the front door is optional (a HUGE rarity these days), and it’s a place where all I hear are birds and the ocean (I can see the Atlantic from my office).
When I lived in the US, I originally thought I had it all, but in a way, I had a distorted version of it. One of the big challenges was the amount of stress added by the culture I experienced. To be clear, it’s neither good nor bad; it was just different. I suppose it was a form of culture shock that never really went away. Or it might have just been Los Angeles itself.
Is “having it all” attainable?
For me, “having it all” is a rather modest view. It’s not about dollars, flashy cars, or flashy clothes, but rather a contentment in life without worry. When viewed through that lens, it is certainly attainable. In many ways, the idea of being overly wealthy doesn’t appeal because of the added stress. I’d rather have a simpler life with simpler things as an attainable goal than chase a wildly fantastical fantasy.
Because of that modest view, I feel like I have “attained it all.” Generally speaking, I enjoy what I do, I have a house, and so on. So what about you? What does “having it all” mean to you, and is it attainable?
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