PEA RIDGE — This is a far deviation from my normal topic of politics, but growing older prompts a much different view of our nation’s and the world’s economic condi- tion. From my first paying job where an hour’s work meant frivolous spending to watching today’s inter- national financial news- casts, I realize my perspec- tive on wealth has changed dramatically.
Too much time to think (or meditate) can lead to some interesting conclu- sions. There is a word, usually associated with spiritual growth, called epiphany, meaning an awak- ening, which might apply if you find yourself starting to think too deeply about
a subject. Recently I found myself trying to resolve the personal question of what my time is really worth to me — and what are my true priorities? Some of this might sound familiar to you.
Having lived in excess of 70 years and having been blessed with reasonably good health, I should be able to anticipate a few more years of productive life. However, as I witness much younger people’s obituaries in the newspa- pers, the realities of life’s uncertainties come into focus. All this leads to self- introspection into the “per- sonal value” of time.
My first job probably paid about 50 cents per hour passing out hand bills for a local grocery storewhich used that as a means of advertising its weekly specials. This was income limited by the time and amount I could earn, but provided lunch money. In the military one is paid monthly and the hours depended on the activity. No one thought about how much they earned per hour. After completion of my college work, I was again paid a monthly salary, even though the checks were divided and paid every two weeks. As a new father, expecting to spend my entire working career in manufacturing, my salary was usually negotiated on a yearly basis even though it was paid bi-weekly or monthly depending on company policy. Nothing in this period prompted me to think about my own income per hour even though I routinely super- vised employees whose income was calculated on an hourly basis and worked on a 40-hour week, with or without, overtime.
Many people have confused a change in my life’s priorities with early retirement since I left my industrial pursuits and moved back to Arkansas. One of life’s great lessons is learning to accept yourself, weakness, warts and all, and leaning more on your concept of spirituality rath- er than your earthly ability. Add to this introspection an ability to view one’s goals as a spiritual achieve- ment rather than financial success and you have the basis for a new self-aware- ness. I was not back in Benton County to retire but rather to try to resolve an issue of life’s purpose. The experiences of the last 25 years have helped me view my priorities differently.
Given a question of how to spend one’s very last day, we would prob- ably have our own answer based on where we are in our relationship to death, as well as other factors. If however, your choices include an economic factor not previously available to you, could that change your choice? What I found myself asking myself were some very sobering ques- tions which made me aware that some of my choices were probably not the best choices over the years — or the time avail- able factor is greater than I had realized before this pe- riod. The song “The Cat’s in the Cradle” has some meaning to a recovering work-a-holic.
If I had committed to at- tend one of my grandson’s football games, or some other activity, on my last day on earth, what would it take in the way of finan- cial compensation to keep me from the game? Would $1,000 per hour affect my decision, or would it take $10,000 per hour? This be- came a personal test ques- tion to help me understand where my priorities lie in light of the world’s finan- cial future and the prospect of world-wide inflation. The situation I face is not necessarily a universal question. Being past the productive labor years
of my youth, my vision is not as blurred by the cost of educating my sons and the lure of wealth has long since given way to the pur- suits of more meaningful personal endeavors.
After 60 years of trying to achieve the fantasy of fulfilling the “American Dream” in a material sense, I now understand that true fulfillment is being able to put the question of “how to spend that last day” into a context appropriate for ourselves. For me person- ally, no material wealth left as a legacy could ever be as meaningful as be- ing remembered by that grandchild cheering them at their activity, whatever activity they engage in, as a final memory.
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Editor’s note: Leo Lynch is an award-winning colum- nist. He is a native of Benton County has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace. He can be contacted at [email protected].