I’ve been spending a little time thinking about priorities lately. I’m not sure if that’s because of the time of year, the time in my life, or what exactly why the introspection, but that’s the mental Bingo ball that just bounced out. My priorities probably aren’t much different from the average person, but let’s see.
First of all, I like to shovel off the driveway before I drive on it. It’s an old man thing because in my quasi-retirement years I have the flexibility of schedule to do it because my work life doesn’t send me out very early.
And speaking of winter, it’s a priority of mine to get away from it for a week each year. As I write this column I’m sitting in the airport in Cancun, Mexico. (Ironically, without any sort of priority boarding status.) I’m traveling with family — my wife, son, and daughter-in-law. Spending time with them is an unspoken priority all throughout the year.
Last year both of our old dogs crossed that bridge and we were petless. Barely a month into the new year and we no longer are. A bouncy 4-year-old golden retriever found its way to our house and I could not be happier. Having pets has always been a priority and I’m happy to have one again.
For now those are my core priorities. But like life, some things you enjoy when you don’t have to deal with them.
Where once I craved wifi, chased wifi, bought a bottle of beer in a third-world country tavern just I could access wifi, I kind of try to go without it now. As modern tech advances have made it more ubiquitous, thus more distracting, putting down the device has become a priority. It’s a powerful tool, but the unreliable, unproductive, unusable detritus that flows through the same faucet that the useful does has begun to sap its grip on me.
I can’t believe I’m writing this, but golf has become less of a priority for me. Slow play and overly loud music have dulled the buzz that I used to get from a round of golf. I learned to play carrying a bag of clubs while talking with all four members of my foursome. Walking and talking, not riding and rocking, never took over four hours. Modern course architecture has produced courses that are less walkable but I don’t think that’s the issue. And, I’m not totally averse to the player that wants to play a little music for their group. Anyone that plays golf, silently, musically, or otherwise, knows what causes slow play. It’s simply because the respect they should have for everyone else on the course is lacking.
You’re reading this in a newspaper the way “news” was meant to be consumed. You can consume it at your own pace and you can enjoy a cup of coffee or a plate of eggs while you do it. You can even reread it later or clip something out of it to save or share. Prioritize reading local news and learning what’s up in your own community. The 24/7 analysis and the “breaking news” false importance of it can worry someone else. Like the detritus flowing on the internet, the false importance of knowing everything all the time is harmful and I’m deprioritizing it.
My favorite priority to have and to maintain is seizing the relaxed side of life. Sometimes, you have to deal with the gunky part, but know that through prioritizing the good side, you’ll skip just that much more of the bad.