by Jill Pertler
Wanting More
Life is pretty good for me right now, but I wake most mornings yearning for more.
Not more in things, but more in purpose. More in positive change for my world. More in feeling I am doing something substantial during my time on this planet.
It got me to wondering. Is this normal? Is it the human condition? I experienced a great loss four years ago, and for much of the time after, I’ve wished I could go back to the way it was. I wished for the before, because the before felt like more.
But back then, I probably didn’t see it as more. I probably saw it as the everyday, and I may have taken it for granted. I may have even longed for more.
Then I lost what I had and saw it as the more. I think we all yearn for more, in one way or another. But. Maybe what we already have is more. Maybe it is the more we will look back at longingly in the future.
I had that thought this morning, as I woke up wondering about all the whats and whys of life.
What does this mean? Where is that going? Why me? What if? Why not me?
What could be better? And then it dawned on me. Maybe I was asking the wrong questions.
What is good right now? How close is peace? What freedoms do I appreciate? Did I smile yesterday? Did I laugh?
Do I need more? Am I already living it? The word “appreciation” is a bit overused right now, but it’s importance can’t be underscored or over-rated.
Appreciating what we have, in each day, in each moment is monumental to mental health. There are always things that could be going better; always things that are going wrong; always things that could go wrong in the future. Always things to worry about.
Living with hope, in the moment, choosing joy, is a choice. Sometimes it is a difficult choice, because the default is literally pounding on our door. But it is a choice nonetheless.
I’ve found that sometimes, during the most difficult times of life, we can be sad, or bored, or scared or overwhelmed.
I’ve found that sometimes, during the best times of life, we can be sad, or bored, or scared or overwhelmed.
If this is true, the same must be so for joy and hope and peace and purposefulness.
You see where I’m going here? We choose: sadness or joy, angst or peace, bored or purposeful. But then, wherein comes the more? Why do I still want more? Is that wrong? In a word, no. I don’t think so. It’s never wrong to aspire to more. To dive deeper. To surge further. To take it up one more step, or even two.
Even in bliss and peace and joy we can want more. We can reach for more. We can yearn for more.
That isn’t wrong. It is making the most of this life. And that, my friends, is precisely what we all are supposed to do. Never stop reaching. Never stop searching. As for me? I wish you more - in whatever scenario that means to you - in the truest sense of the word.
Jill Pertler is an award-winning syndicated columnist, published playwright and author. Don’t miss a slice; follow the Slices of Life page on Facebook.
