My wife and I got talking the other day about the way most of us are always striving to achieve certain things, or have more money, or get somewhere in life—but once you get there it still doesn’t seem to satisfy you the way your mind had dreamed.
The topic came up because I am like many people in that I have worked my entire life with this idea of finally having enough money to sit back, cross my arms and proclaim, “OK, I’ve made it. Now I can relax.”
She says that day will never happen and I must admit she is probably right. Not that she doubts I could ever make a little more money, but she believes most people don’t ever get true satisfaction when the pile of money gets a certain height.
I certainly didn’t come from old money, and neither did my wife. We were married very young (she was 18 and I was 20) and neither of us had parents or relatives who ever left us a pile of an inheritance. And just to be clear, that means we have never inherited any money!
There are a couple of great old sayings on this topic, like the familiar Scripture, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” I really do appreciate that verse in the Bible and I try to put it into practice. But being honest, I do struggle with it.
And then there is the old line about “money can’t buy happiness,” to which most people respond, “well, let me at least find out for myself!”
It’s probably true that money can’t buy happiness, but I am certain that money can ease some of the struggles and pressures of life, and that’s undoubtedly why I’m a guy hustling hard to get my share for myself and the family.
The funny thing is that even though God told us “Godliness with contentment is great gain,” he also put a human desire in us to want to achieve things, and get somewhere in life. So considering that, I don’t think God has any problem with us working hard to get a little piece of the financial pie.
I think I fall somewhere in the middle of the whole topic—I know I truly work at being thankful to God. I’m really so fortunate, and I would bet the vast majority of you feel the same way. Most of us have good health, our family is not dealing with any tragic situations, and I’ve certainly got a job I can do for as many years as I would like.
But now that I have passed the age of 60 I can see my perspective on some of this is changing as the years go by. When we are young we dream of retiring one day, but then when we get to that point—a place I might consider in a few years if I want to—I realize I would never be satisfied without having something worthwhile to do every day.
That’s why you see so many volunteer groups out there, and so many awesome people in St. Tammany Parish who want to be a part of doing something valuable and worthwhile for the community.
So the next time you get caught up—like me—agonizing over the checkbook, or maybe the number that isn’t quite as big as you want, look around and see how much good there is in this community. The more you focus on being thankful, it replaces that thought process to be worried or anxious about what you don’t have.
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I have been talking in the pages of this newspaper lately about the coming elections, but I got a different angle on running for public office when I ran into Dr. Leanne Truehart recently.
She was never a candidate in any election before last year when she felt led to run for parish coroner. Leanne had spent her life working as a psychiatrist, and was hired by the former parish coroner to work as the director of mental health for St. Tammany.
Suddenly a year ago she was running for election and told me in our recent meeting that she has had her one and only try for public office.
Leanne said she learned how important it is for people to support the candidate of their choice, and she realized more clearly than ever how difficult and challenging it is to be a public servant. She told me, “I promised my husband I won’t run for public office again!”
These days she is back to working for the Behavioral Alliance Task Force—another of those community volunteer positions that are so vital for us all—and she is getting her private practice back on track. Maybe she didn’t win the election, but I still learned a lot about her when she ran, and I believe she is a very sincere person intent on using her life to help others.
But I certainly understood her thoughts about the prospect of running for public office. I’ve seen up close what our public officials go through and I can state pretty clearly they are mostly underpaid and under-appreciated for what they do, especially in the very difficult positions of City Council or Parish Council. Those men and women take on a lot of responsibility, have to answer to many people, and might get a call any time of the day or night, 365 days a year.
Nope, I think I’ll stick to this newspaper thing. But I definitely appreciate Leanne’s thoughts about the public office career path, and I’ll leave that to someone else.
Kevin Chiri can be reached by e-mail at kevinchiri@gmail.com.