Presidential Traffic Thoughts

Happy President's Day!

Is it me, or does it seem like the world would be a lot better place if there was no such thing as traffic? I literally cannot remember one time in my life where I got out of traffic and said, "gee, I know I don't really like traffic, but  traffic actually turned out to be wonderfully-beneficial to me today." When I am elected President, I plan to put a stop to it- among other things like overspending, and gum.

On one of my daily drives home from work, while stuck in the wonderfully-beneficial traffic, I kept mulling over the topic of initiative and happiness. It may sound a little off-the-wall, and discredit anything I say henceforth, but I actually have to attribute this thought pattern to my recent watching of the abcfamily series Greek, where the main girl, Casey, is often torn between the smart, overachieving, rich, athletic, and classically good-looking Evan Chambers and his opposite, former best friend, Cappie (no last name), who is considered to be the seemingly under-achieving yet happy, chill guy who seems to always have the right answer and coasts without much difficulty through life.

If I haven't lost you already...

I was thinking about how much emphasis is placed on people reaching the top of their profession, striving to be the head honcho, showing initiative and working their way up the professional ladder. All admiral qualities of course, and when I look at people who have accomplished such I am both impressed and inspired. But what surprises me most is how often I am just as impressed and inspired by individuals who have no desire to take their career to the next level, no overwhelming career ambition to speak of, but instead are simply content to float along life as is, choosing to focus more on other areas of their life instead such as parenthood, friendships, community, etc.

Most of the time, one is celebrated more than the other- a fault of our society (an even balance is needed). This is not new news, and I don't claim to hold any special significance in pointing it out, as many have done so before me. But I guess in all my naiveness, a general part of growing up, I am just now realizing that between my happy go-getter friends and my happy coasting comrades, I notice no difference in their happiness levels because they are one or the other- just simply that they are happy. And really, as long as their not hurting anyone, that's all that seems to matter.

I hope to succeed in all areas of my life- an impossible task for anyone to achieve (I predict staying away from fried foods as the one I will most likely fail at most frequently in life), but if I happen to turn out to be a go-getter or coasting comrade in the end- I just hope that, ultimately, I am happy-- and more so, that I don't spend life stuck in traffic.