Life is a Life Coach

LITTLE CHIPPY

Little Chippy (AKA Retirement Chipmunk) appeared on the scene in the 1990's.

What's the difference between living and living large? It's not what you think. Living large used to mean wealth, expensive toys, mansions and world travel. Nowadays, I think that living large sometimes means not being homeless, hungry and disenfranchised. Has what used to be luxury shifted to striving for basic sustenance? If so, how did this happen?

But first, let's decide if it DID happen. When was it that everyone had all of their basic needs met? The romantic notion of the America Dream in history is that it was available to anyone willing to work for it and if enough effort was put into the venture, one would reap inevitable and generous rewards. Like other stereotypical situations, this nostalgia may or may not withstand close scrutiny. 

Believing that the good life is somehow a birthright is misguided and pretty much a pipe dream for most people. Those who want to believe that life is about to bestow largess upon them at any moment are demonstrating a kind of futility evidenced by their use of the lottery as their retirement strategy. So, what can one realistically expect from life? 

Hard work still counts. There's no denying that some people are go-getters and others are not. It seems to me that those who actually DO put in an effort are more likely to be satisfied with the results they obtain; although there are people with low expectations and those who need less from life than others do. Where do you fit in?

Who me? I fit into the "don't really think about all that much" camp. Hmm, is this perhaps a little futilistic? Or is it realistic to live life in the now? As cliché as it actually is, for me there is no past or future. The moment that has just gone by while you were reading the beginning of this sentence no longer exists; nor does the moment that will occur after you get to the sentence's end. 

Does this mean I'm immune to the concept of magically realizing unexpected good fortune? No, not at all, I just have a casual "wait and see" attitude about this unlikely outcome. It would be great to have a life of luxury, who wouldn't enjoy such a fate?  But I'm not holding my breath in anticipation. Although... I might from time to time be heard saying never say never. I've found that many things I never thought would happen or come to be actually DID. It's always a great surprise when that happens.

So in the end, I think we should take a lesson from Little Chippy. Little Chippy started life as a mix of organic polymers that were colored, processed and poured into a mold. Did Little Chippy have high expectations considering his humble beginnings? Could he have possibly known that he would exceed the manufacturer's expectation of being a keitch and inexpensive lawn ornament?

Little Chippy has far exceeded his programming, so to speak. He has become the symbol of achievement (being dubbed "retirement Chipmunk) and the embodiment of entertaining and fun family folklore. Even having his hard plastic head break off after a fall hasn't dulled Little Chippy's attitude or kept him from continuing to be a symbol of optimism and hope. 

After all, if Little Chippy can make something of himself without even trying, without even realizing his self worth or doing anything to achieve his success and good fortune...

Then why can't we?