Are you a winner or loser?

Lost any money in the stock market? Well if you have anything invested at all you have. Even if you don’t, we are all feeling the effects of a spend before you earn mentality. We have become a nation of plastic. As even the nation as a whole is finding out it is a whole lot easier to use than it is to pay back. If in doubt take a look at the U.S. National Debt Clock. The clock is the size of a billboard and is displayed near 44th Street in Manhattan, N.Y.

When the clock was made it was made with spaces to display a trillion dollar debt. When the U.S. public debt reached 10,000,000,000 in September of this year the extra digit was forced to share space with the dollar sign. It was really sobering to think that our national indebtedness had grown too large for the debt clock.

Word has it that the owners of the clock, the Durst Organization is planning on replacing the clock in 2009 with one that will be able to display up to a quadrillion dollars! The clock not only displays the nation’s indebtedness but each families share of that debt. For most of us it is not even a matter of saving – it is how do we survive? The answer being by focusing on the things in life that really matter.

The commercial says “What’s in your wallet?” Asking the question about the kind of credit card you possess, one that will make life more enjoyable or at least until the bill comes in the mail.

We have been sold a lie – that being that possessions make you happy. If we listen to every commercial we’d all have to be blondes to have more fun and we’d all have to be no larger than a size 6 to be truly happy.

As you know I am neither a blonde or size 6 but yet I am rich! How’s that, you say? You would never know it by looking at me but I do possess some things that are absolutely priceless.

I have a family that loves me, a home here and one in heaven, friends, peace in my heart, peace of mind, a job that I love and Michelle’s quarter. Once a collector of things it has taken me almost a lifetime to realize that things don’t bring happiness.

And I have come to conclusion that there is really something that you possess that you want someone to have after you leave this earth- unless you can’t bear to be without it, give to them now. That way you know that it is where you intended it to be.

It’s not in the getting, or the keeping that makes for happiness. It is a matter of the heart. It is a matter of not letting the trivial things in life rob you of the peace that you have.

It seems that small children are the only ones whose lives are not clouded by politics, corruption, greed and malice. Listen to children there are lessons to learn. It was from a 5-year-old that I learned a valuable economic lesson. It was in a kindergarten class years upon years ago, Michelle (who is now a grown up) came up to me and gave me a quarter.

She said, “Ms. Jarrell here’s you a quarter.” And I said, “Michelle use that quarter to buy you some ice cream (back then you could ).” She said, “Nope, I want you to have it and if you never spend it you will always have some money.”

So it is I have Michelle’s quarter. It is in a safe place, having it makes me rich!



Simply Sandy is written by Sandy Jarrell and appears the first Wednesday of each month. Simply put, it’s Sandy waxing wordy once a month about life as she knows it. Jarrell is a native and life-long resident of Coleridge and a librarian at Ramseur Public Library.