What do you fix first?

Yesterday I met a jeweler and we had a great exchange of experiences. He was also in a life threatening situation a few years ago when he was shot a few times on the chest. He shared how grateful he was to be alive and that his priorities had changed due to the incident.

It is natural to have our priorities mixed up because we prefer having immediate pleasure as opposed to exercising our patience. We often focus on ourselves, what benefits us, what will give us immediate pleasure, as opposed to the things that are harder or may take longer.

In our conversation the jeweler said, if your refrigerator and your television both stop working, what do you fix first?

I would fix the refrigerator because that is essential to preserve food, television is not an essential item in my house, it is extra. But as I though about this I was reminded of people I know that would fix the television first. I know this is only an analogy, but think of how many people are living on the surface, pretending to have a lifestyle that is worth of posting on the internet and not actually living and experiencing this opportunity. Think of people who only see money and fame and don’t actually see people with feelings. Think of those who put as a priority connections instead of family.

It’s really sad when I meet someone who thinks the life of others is so perfect and that they have to keep up with society. It is even more sad when they seek love and acceptance outside of themselves and become frustrated or depressed when they don’t find it.

In the end of the day it is all a matter of priorities, if we are not well we have to seek to understand why and fix the problems before we focus on less important things.