Not to rehash the witty and infinitely amusing opening chapters of Losing, but my childhood sucked for a number of reasons. No air conditioning, no disposable income, lousy stupid jobs, the most disgusting cuts of "meat." (It was, of course, paradise compared to what most humans have experienced.)
I think that, like many parents of my generation, I didn't want my kid to be deprived. Anne and I did always try to emphasize that the world is an unfair place, and we went out of our way to counter the horrific lie of "You can be anything you want to be / Follow your dreams." But we pretty much never denied them anything.
The problem for parents (and the rest of us) is the hedonic treadmill. Whatever we have, we take for granted. We always want more. And if we have everything we could reasonably expect to have....
The more I read about the unhappiness of young (English-speaking) people today, the more it seems likely that if you have never suffered deprivation, you are unable to have gratitude. This is especially true in a click- and eyeball-based economy, where everything feeds on negativity bias.
Honestly, I kinda have a guilt about having such a good life and being so happy. It is far too easy for the person who hit the cosmic jackpot to scold others for not realizing how good they have it.
But I do appreciate, many times every day, how unreasonably fortunate I am. This especially true today, The Real High Holy Day.
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| Hanging today, originally created in 2004. |
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| <!!!!> |
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| Marriage weekend, 1992 |
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| Following our official marriage ceremony |
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"In the photo, I’m on the left, in a shirt and tie, with a goofy 'I can’t believe this! Can you effing believe this?' look on my face. Anne is on the right, looking like a stone-cold fox." |
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