Do We Live In a "Too Accustomed to" World?

I just woke up, laying here in the semi darkness of my room and found myself getting a sense of panic because I realized that Jack did not wake me all nite. And that made me think about how we become used to things and when they change, it makes us feel a sense of loss or panic or whatever.  Son is used to me being awake well before he is, and one morning he woke up and I was still dead asleep. He came in and was frantically shaking me saying “Mom! Mom!” and of course scared the crap out of me. LOl. But, he was used to be being awake and so thought something was wrong.

As I lay here, I began thinking about life in general.  Becoming accustomed to something can be a good thing and a bad thing. I am accustomed to my coffee pot coming on and having my coffee ready when I wake up. That is a good thing. But, we also are accustomed to Facebook taking our privacy away bit by bit and so it does not seem as bad each time they do it and that is a bad thing for we are giving up our privacy and not doing anything about it.

All through life, we have been accustomed to things happening and few make attempts to do anything about it. I loved it when people got mad over the price of gas going up so high and so refused to buy on a certain day. They were trying to make a change for the good.

Daily, prices go up on us, politicians change things on us and don’t serve us….the ones they are elected to represent but represent themselves,  children are abducted and killed, abuse goes on, swindlers take your money (remind me to tell you about the scanner that stole my bank card and took four hundred plus dollars from my account), politicians promise this and do that, people argue over petty things, honor and trust are broken, people are starving and living without>>>>>>>>and yet for the most part, we have become jaded and just are accustomed to this and see no change in sight.

In our personal life, we become accustomed to the little things. I am accustomed to my son doing all the cooking and when he is sick, I find myself at loose ends trying to figure out what to do for the meals. I am accustomed to Jack’s snoring hum in my bedroom at night and when he decides to sleep on his bed in the living room instead, I find myself having a hard time going to sleep.

I read somewhere that it takes at least six weeks to change a habit. That means the person who tells you “I will change” has not yet really changed until at least six weeks of daily showing you the same changed behavior.  So, what keeps us holding on that things will be different?  Hope?  Faith? loss of sensitivity?

I fight my own personal battles for that is really all I can do as I am not in good enough shape to be an activist. I refuse to buy dog food and we make our own. I won’t buy it because of the way the horses are being brutalized and killed to make it. That is my personal statement. Plus, Jack is so much better on homemade and has lived longer than the vets thought being fed without all the junk that comes in dog food. I refuse to vote for politicians with the reputation of not following through. Another personal statement of mine. I won’t buy from shady business people. And I try hard to not let all the negative things that the media shoves down our throat filter into my life and make me become even more cynical.

I am still appalled at abuse and child abductions and wonder how we can put a man on the moon and not find these children. I am still appalled at the greediness of people in the world who will not help those less fortunate. I am still appalled that our government uses the very people that voted them in because they believed in them and they use us to fill their own personal goals and desires of grandeur. And I hope I never “become accustomed” to these things.

And on a personal level, I try not to become so accustomed to things that my sons do for me that I forget to thank them and tell them how much it means. I think that not telling them is taking our loved ones for granted. I had a few people work under me this past year and I constantly told them how good they did their jobs and how much I appreciated them for I never wanted them to feel like they were just being used or taken advantage of. This is how I am and what I strive to do for my own loved ones and my friends. I want people around me to know that I do not take them for granted and that I appreciate all they do for me. I want to never become so “accustomed” to those around me that I fail to see how special they are.

Some things I think are good to be accustomed to. Right now we are under a winter storm warning…and I am accustomed to being warm. But we are also taking precautions to make sure we stay warm. We have the generator, have all the underground vents insulated, etc. So, even when we are accustomed to something, we don’t want to be so accustomed that we fail to take care of things that are our responsibility. This is like voting. We might be accustomed to the corrupt politicians winning, but does not mean we should not go out and vote.

I am accustomed to all my handicap accessible things I have in my home and when I go out, it is always hard and a shock to see that not everything is handicap accessible. It is a vivid reminder to be on guard and watch and take care of myself. But, it is also a reminder that if I have trouble, so will other handicap people and I should speak up and say something when things are not handicap accessible.

I went on a church trip to Italy. And we were coming out of the Vatican with these long steps. And everyone went off and left an elderly woman who had trouble walking and myself…..and I am on forearm crutches. So, I held her hand and used one crutch to get us both down the steps. Now, I could have been so accustomed to people around the world with disabling problems that I just went on my merry way. But, thankfully, I am not. I don’t ever want to be so used to seeing people struggle that I don’t stop to help someone, even though I am handicapped.

Taking control and not allowing ourselves to become so accustomed to the way things are means being aware. Walk down the street one day and look at the people. I mean really look. See the ones who are struggling. See the ones doing without. When you are visiting, really take a look at people’s homes and notice if they are doing without food, heat, clothing, support, whatever. When listening to people and this means the politicians and the media especially, really “HEAR” what they are saying. Don’t just hear the drone of their words. Listen to the meaning and the intonations.If you watch people long enough, they will show you who they really are.

Being aware all the time means that it won’t be so easy to just become accustomed to things the way they are but that you notice when these things don’t seem right or when someone is saying without saying..that they need help. And ask yourself questions. People do not generally do things out of the goodness of their heart.

Facebook does not make all these changes just to please us. They do it because it increases their money. A business does not generally offer a “deal” because it is to help us. It helps them. So always be aware so that you are not so accustomed that you are taken advantage of. Don’t let people rob you emotionally, physically, spiritually, financially just because you are so accustomed to their pitch or their words or their actions that you don’t see the true story. Politicians will promise you the moon to get elected, te$evangelists will make you feel like you will prosper more and won’t go to hell if you send money and if you don’t, then your faith is not strong enough, loved ones will play on your heart strings. It is our job to not be so accustomed that we fail to see the signs. People WILL abduct children and these people walk among us but we are accustomed to seeing them so we don’t notice. Becoming too accustomed means that our senses are down and we are not paying attention until it is too late.

So, what are you accustomed to today?  And what have you done about it so that you don’t become so accustomed that you don’t take care of things you need to or that you don’t speak up for injustice or that someone is not taking advantage of you or that you lose someone and wonder how did this happen. Why didn’t I see it?