Reasonably free. And happy, too.

The world isn't gonna be the place I want it to be. So I've got two choices, essentially. Adapt and cope. Or live a frustrated life. But the nice thing is that the world ain't all bad. One can salvage many, many nice times. Endearing times. Loving times. Still, one has to put up with some crap. Things that one can't change. As for me, I learn acceptance. Or I fight for change. Even when it's a losing cause. At least I get some satisfaction from trying. Occasionally, I come out the winner. I get great satisfaction when I win a battle with the political bureaucracy. Especially at work. Shows that I have some power. I'm still able to control my fate to some meaningful degree. Sometimes, I merely outlast the opposition. I out-live 'em. I have lived long enough to retire. Which gives me more independence than I had before. Gives me more flexibility. Gives me more options to do what I really want to do. More of a sense of freedom. But even before I retired, I tried to position myself so that I could be free. So that I could be my own being. Without having to submit to the dictates of others. Seems to me that freedom and happiness go hand in hand. I'm never totally free. But I have convinced myself that I am reasonably free. And happy, too. --Jim Broede