tired of preparing

One of my New Year's resolutions this year is to live more in the present. I'm so sick and tired of living for the future, always planning ahead and rarely stopping to sit back and enjoy where I am at. It's quite ironic, because I made some pretty heavy decisions in my life over the last few years that have radically changed my lifestyle and my overall stress level - for the better. But it seems like we have spent so many years trying to get to this plateau of satisfaction that it becomes unreachable every time you get there.

I blame this phenomenon on society as a whole. We are constantly being bombarded with "what if" statements regarding our future. What if we don't save enough for retirement? What if we cannot afford health insurance when we retire? What if we discover that our 401k is worth nothing because the stock market crashes? Honestly, I'm sick of it.

It may sound naive, but I'm truly considering the laissez fair attitude when it comes to my retirement. I know it is going to happen eventually, but I'm not going to pend my entire life trying to plan for the future. I've got the basics covered - we've pared down our expenses, ditched our debt, and are concentrating on living simpler lives, which goes hand in hand with living frugally. I've got my old 401k from my last corporate job, which I am still thinking of cashing in. I don't trust the stock market with my hard-earned cash. I've got term life insurance which should cover us until our youngest child has moved out of the house. I don't know if we'll renew or get another policy beyond that. Once the kids are gone, we can pretty much live like Ghandi and be happy. As for health insurance, I'm praying that somebody makes it into office that will push for a national healthcare policy. If not, perhaps I'll just wander into the emergency room whenever I have an illness and act like an illegal alien.

I just think that we spend so much time preparing for the future that we miss what is going on right now. My family has so much to be happy about, but I'm rarely feeling it because I'm always worried about what's going to happen next. Who made us this way? Our parents? Television? "Snap out of it," I keep telling myself. Perhaps one of these days, I will.