Too Easy…

One of my lessons learnt from my parents was that if you got what you wanted… too easily…then much of the pleasure of whatever it was you wanted…would be lost.

If however, you worked hard for something …then it’s value would increase in your perception and you would value it more highly.

This lesson was applied across the board for whatever I wanted, from toys to books to clothes…or whatever it was that took my fancy. I had to ‘earn’ these things by way of mowing lawns or cleaning gutters or emptying bins.

It has left me with a legacy of really looking after my ‘stuff’ with a vigor that is a little obsessive.

Cars that are cleaned with their interior surfaces buffed, the leather seats are cosseted and massaged. Mountain bikes that gleam after every ride with oil applied and grease applied. Clothes that I wear are folded and put away neatly. Walking boots are cleaned then re-proofed so that they retain their resistant qualities.

The list just goes on and on.

Yet today’s society seems intent on making everything easier and easier.

Don’t bother learning to drive – get an Uber.

Don’t bother cooking – get a Deliveroo.

Don’t bother going out for adventure – play ‘on line’ games instead.

Don’t bother going to work – stay at home and work.

Don’t bother dieting – get an injection.

Are we perhaps making everything tooooooo easy to an extent that nobody will value what they have?

Where does this lead us as a society?

I remember an episode of the Simpsons, where Homer was jealous of somebody in hospital who was being fed intravenously? He complained, ‘Why do I have to go out and find food to eat?’ – is this the way we are all heading?

Mike C