View from the Right

by

Rod Martensen

                                                                                                January 2009

SIX SECRETS FOR A BETTER 2009

As we enter the New Year and the “all gloom and doom, all the time” network assault by the talking heads in the media shows no sign of abatement, I thought I would offer everyone six great little secrets for living a happier life in 2009. These are insights that I have gleaned over the 54 that I’ve spent crawling around this rock that we humans call home. These are guaranteed to improve your life, make you a happier person, and they don’t cost a thing. How more appropriate can that be in these trying economic times?

First, learn to happy with what you have, rather than obsessing on what you want or what others have. My father called this “the gotta-haves.” This one can also be called the “recovering yuppie mantra.” What you want is an endless and insatiable cycle; what you have is what you have, and most of us in this country have a lot to be thankful for, especially in comparison to other countries and peoples around the world.

Second, learn that wherever you are, however pleasant or unpleasant, is exactly where God wants you to be at that particular moment. This one is perhaps the hardest of the five to learn because it is not a matter of the intellect but of belief and trust.  

Third, learn to love others as you love yourself. Enough said. This one should also be called the “recovering narcissist mantra.”

Fourth, learn to forgive the transgressions of others against you and don’t hold grudges; they are simply a waste of time and energy. To love or to hate both require time and energy. The question is, “Where are you going spend them?” If given the choice between love and hate, choose love. As we get older most of us simply don’t have the time or energy to hate and the negativity to our health and happiness that results from hating is simply not worth it.

Five, learn to live beneath your means, not above or at them. If 2008 saw anything, it saw the death of the yuppie ethos in American culture; the end of an era. A forty year cycle of unbridled self-indulgence, excess and narcissism, sold as freedom and liberation, has finally come to a crashing end. For the last twenty years or more, the baby-boomers have been on a binge of material aggrandizement and excess consumption and the chickens have finally come home to roost in 2008. Translation: they were living beyond their means. Remember: you can’t retire if you don’t pay off your house and have some money in the bank.

Six, learn to trust in God and place yourself in His hands. This is probably the most difficult of these six things to do, especially for men who love to believe that they are in control, but also the greatest for achieving a sense of peace and calm about one’s life amidst the chaos and turmoil around you and the anxiety within you. Again, this is difficult because it is a matter of belief and trust, not intellect.

If any of these sound familiar, they should. We all heard them growing up from our mothers and fathers (you know: America’s Greatest Generation) and in our churches and synagogues. 2008 was a disaster of a year. We may not be through the worst of this mess yet. I hope that I’m wrong. No matter how 2009 turns out, I hope these six little ideas pay large dividends for you.  

Best wishes for the New Year.