Personal Happiness and Small Change

I recently was hired full-time at the Super Walmart in Clarkston, Washington.  It’s kind of a culmination of rising to the top and falling to the bottom life that I’ve lived that past 49 years. Since my parents raised me until I was 18, I can’t really count those years in my rise to the top, with one huge exception. What my parents taught me during those years. They taught me to be nice — all the time.  To say “please” and “thank you” at every given opportunity.  To treat others the way I want to be treated. To go to church at every given opportunity.  To lead an honest life. Make wise decisions. They taught me that every decision comes with a consequence.  Make a good decision, usually good consequences. Make a bad decision, usually bad consequences.  They taught me that alcohol, tobacco, and drugs are bad for my body and if I should indulge myself in any of them, they taught me what would happen to my body.  I ended up only sipping some wine and since I have a distaste for it, it was only a few times. I place  emphasis  on “what those three things would do to my body,” not on whether it was the right or wrong thing to do.

So I grew up and went on my merry way.  I won’t indulge you in my whole life, except to say I graduated late. I was 31 when I graduated from college. I married later. I was 37 when I got married. I became a dad even later. I was a dad five weeks before my 40th birthday.  When I reached 40, I started to increase my income. Along with the duel income of my wife, we started making a lot of money.  We bought our first house when I was 41.  Sold it and bought another house when I was about 45 or 46.  Thought we needed a rental home but found out too late that we didn’t and lost it to foreclosure.  When I lost my well-paying  job as an associate pastor, I eventually had to short-sale my house.  Thus started the fall to the bottom. I started quoting, “How low can I go?” My wife didn’t like me saying that so I stopped.

I have always been a positive person.  I see the glass mostly full and life can change in a moment so I try not to sweat the small stuff.  I can catch fish one day and nothing the next. I started working one job, then another, then another, then another, and currently work 5 jobs.  Since I will be full-time with Walmart in a week or two, I will be quitting at least one of them. The other three are flexible enough to keep. 

I would never say Walmart is the bottom. But I know a lot of people would.  Most people, I concur probably criticize or make fun of Walmart. But they shop there.  Most would say, “I’d never work for Walmart” but most of them shop there. 

Here’s what I’ve found out so far.  Those who make less money seem to be more happy.  Maybe its because they can’t afford much of anything.  So they have less to concern themselves with.  Most of the people I’ve gotten to know at Walmart are very friendly people.  I don’t know them off the worksite yet, so I don’t know what attitudes they take home with them. 

Most companies, and churches could learn a lot from Walmart. Communication is huge.  They have three team meetings a day.  Simply to go over decision-making items, make suggestions and get store reports. I think it’s pretty cool that they’d think all employees should stay “in the know.”  They have an open door policy.  You can criticize, suggest, and complement what Walmart does without any threat of retaliation.  Maybe these policies have been defective to some disgruntled employees, but just having them at our disposal makes for a better working environment.

So, for me, my personal happiness has changed. I have a lot of stuff. Because I once made a lot of money.  Now I just adjust it because now I can’t afford what I used to be able to afford.  Our trips to Disneyland will become farther in between.  Our electronic purchases, phones, TV’s, computers, video games, and accessories will be more thought out. 

At any rate, the changes to my personal happiness have changed. But they are small considering where I could be.  Now I sing a different song, “How high can I fly?”  I think it’s heavenly.