As I’ve mentioned before, my mindset about life completely changed a few years ago after my stroke. Like most people, I was only focused on the almighty dollar. I had a boat we only used once a year when I took a vacation. My other vacation was used to catch up on what needed to be fixed around the house. All our money went to bills. I never had time for anything. I spent 2 – 3 hours a day sitting in traffic. I was stressed. In bad health. And then it happened. A stroke caused me to go into seizures so severe they broke my right arm in two places and my left arm in four places and completely dislocated both shoulders.

Then, it was over. My career. My ability to use my arms. My toys were gone. One of our cars. The house. It was all gone.

Not long after, after the surgeries and after the anger started to lift, I decided to take a long hard look at not only my life, but life in general. What are we going?! Everyone is constantly fighting. If they aren’t fighting over religion, they’re fighting over politics. Or they’re fighting over what books to read. Or fighting over guns. Arguing about gas prices. Arguing over what generation is screwing up what for other generations. All the while, still rushing around in that rat race cesspool thinking it is going to make a difference in the long run.

I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t make a difference. Pretty soon, your kids are grown and you wonder what happened. You have to look at pictures to see where the time went. You don’t recognize the person in the mirror. When did the gray hairs start? Where did the time go? Where did my life go?

What gives me direction in life now? Acceptance. That’s the reason we became Omnists. We believe everyone has the right to choose the way they want to live. Everyone has the right to worship the way they want to worship. We also chose to slow down. We moved to this little acreage of land and started a farm. I no longer guzzle down my coffee and scarf down my breakfast on the way out the door. I am taking my time to enjoy the rest of my life, and I so wish others would do the same. 

Life isn’t about making money and buying toys and expensive vacations where you have to rush to get in as much fun as possible. It’s about the simple things. Birds singing in the morning. Pulling a radish out of the ground you planted. Feeling the breeze. Breathing in the smell of the air after a rain. Those are the important things. Not the arguing and fighting. The bickering about pointless things. The color of your neighbor’s fence. The way a person dresses. None of it matters. None of it. What matters is doing what is best for you. Accept the world does not see it the same as you see it. Be okay with that. Enjoy your life. It’s not as long as you think.