To live a quality life . . . that would seem to be one of the goals we all share, surely. We all strive to improve our quality of life, don’t we? From the poor family living in a shotgun shack in New Iberia, Louisiana, to the rich corporate mogul living in a 5th Avenue high-rise in New York, we all want a better life, don’t we?
But that’s a nebulous subject at best. What does a better life mean? And is it really true that we all seek a better life? The mentally ill probably can’t even conceive of that concept. They are simply trying to function in a sane world, day to day, but they do not have the mental capacity to philosophize about a better life. For them, life is simply about survival.
I had a next-door neighbor growing up, Mister Streitz was his name, a World War 2 veteran, without a doubt suffered from PTSD, and the meanest man I have ever met. He verbally abused his wife, he verbally abused his son, he verbally abused the kids in the neighborhood, and this went on for years. If that man tried to live a quality life, it was not apparent to anyone. I doubt the idea even popped into his war-ravaged brain.
More memories when we live a quality life
And then there was my Aunt Lois, bedridden as a young adult, some heart defect severely limiting her activities. For her, and I’m simply imagining, to live a quality of life would mean to get through a day without pain, or to be able to partake in activities the rest of the family could do but she could not. And yet she was the kindest, most loving human being I have ever known. She never had a negative word to say about anything. She never complained about her health. She prayed to her God, and she said her job on earth was to love people. For her, living a quality life was all about loving others, and she achieved that goal many times over.
What about me?
And then the question arrives at my doorstep, and I must admit I did very little philosophizing about such weighty matters when I was younger. I wanted things as a teen and young adult. I wanted the American Dream to materialize, and I worked hard to achieve it, but no matter how hard I worked, I always wanted more. And yes, my happiness during those early years was directly affected by how close I was to acquiring more possessions, and that is a fool’s game at best.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to realize that having “more things” will never be enough, if that makes any sense to any of you reading this. In fact, I am now trying to find my way to a minimal lifestyle, getting rid of the things, doing more with less, and that is freeing and greatly enjoyable.
Is my quality of life better today?
I believe it is. I believe I live a better quality of life today, at 73, than I ever did at 30 when I had so much. And my wife and I are making plans to improve that quality of life even more, through RV travel with our trailer, an RV lifestyle, meeting new people, experiencing new happenings, living simply and enjoying the hell out of simple daily occurrences. What wish to find the wonder in life, as we wander, so that every single day we live a quality of life we can be proud of.
Wish us luck!
Thank you Bill! Our trailer is self-contained, and can go a week without power or water-refill, so we shouldn’t have any problems.
Best of luck, for sure. I have also moved toward a minimalist lifestyle. I long ago realized that my happiest times were when I had the least, my toughest times were when I had the “most” – in terms of income and material things. Now, I live on Social Security and a modest pension, have few needs or wants, and save a few dollars each month from that modest fixed income. Life is good.
Your challenge as RVers will be the nightly charges of parking with amenities, I perceive. I’m sure your research has addressed this, but it has always been a concern as we once considered RVing. Looking forward to your stories!! 😉