America: busy streets, dingy clouds of tinted gray exhaust, the shrill beep of horns, and a monotonous, got-to-get-ahead way of life. This characterization of a country I know well vastly differs from the serene, relaxed atmosphere that envelops the emerald slopes of Ireland. Having lived in both, and with the advantage of hindsight, I am able to appreciate the tremendous difference in terms of culture and life in general. America and Ireland are as opposite as night and day, the contrast between them as great as the ocean that serves as a divider. The discrepancy between the two is not so much in tangible qualities, but rather in the natures of the countries themselves: the way of life, the people, and the values held in esteem. I often get frustrated by the frantic pace at which life seems to fly by.
Day upon day passes and I don’t know where the time has gone; get up, go to school, go to a meeting, go to practice, maybe go to another meeting, go home, eat supper, have some free time, go to bed, get up? It seems as if I’m always looking forward to that time in the future when life changes, but at each new stage it appears further and further away. I often ask myself why I do so much if I don’t enjoy it, but it seems that the answer is clear. I feel as though I have to, that it is expected of me. The activities I partake in now will help me to get into a good college, then get a good job, then have a good future, then provide my good children with a good life of their own. Good, good, good. I find everyone is so focused on success and getting ahead that they often don’t take the time to enjoy the daily pleasures that life brings.
The Essay on Cost of the Good Life
Overall wellbeing, an extravagant lifestyle, and wealth all come to mind when I ponder the good life but what does the good life actually cost? At first glance, this seems like a loaded question that requires multiple dissertations in order to answer. I even contemplated whether or not the good life had a cost at all. Breaking the good life into separate topics relieves much of the stress when it ...
I sometimes find myself sitting on the porch with my family on a warm summer night, the brilliant setting sun casting the last of it’s comforting rays on our faces’, and am filled with the knowledge of what life is all about. It’s about sharing, caring, loving, and playing. It is not about work, money, and more work. It is at these times that I’m filled with a longing for Ireland. The people of Ireland are the poster-models for warmth, compassion, and hospitality.
Days are not the basis of a rigidly-packed schedule, but an opportunity to receive what the world has to offer. A surprise midday visit from old friends (or strangers) for tea is a welcome break from the norm. Not because it breaks up the monotony of a work day, but because it offers a chance to open up heart and home and make life just a bit more pleasurable for their guests. Success is not considered in terms of monetary value, but in the amount of happiness that is present in the lives of themselves and those around them.
A early morning stroll over grassy hills and lustrous pastures, with an occasional glimpse of the multi-colored, checker-board-like expanse of beautiful land that Ireland is famous for, is never taken for granted. The fresh, crisp, pollution-free air fills the soul, reminding anyone of how lucky they are to experience such freedom and simple pleasures without the restraints of time and work-related stress. To me, America is the essence of materialism, Ireland the essence of freedom and spontaneity.
