The American Dream, particularly after the Great Depression, for a long time was to own a nice car, a big house, luxury vacations and expensive clothes. Those were the ultimate status symbols to indicate that people had “made it”. And I guess for some people those may still be their life goals. Chasing those types of riches can lead to soulless endeavors in the end. Some people believe retail therapy soothes their soul, but after the purchases are made and the new wears off, a vacant feeling can creep in.

For many people, the pandemic has shifted their priorities, and freedom has become the supreme luxury. The freedom of time to do what they want and what they please. The freedom of location to work and live where they choose to take residence. For the Joshua White family who are traveling across the U.S. and stopped in Corning last week, their destiny was changed after COVID left them feeling life was too short and had become a grind of work and running to extracurricular activities. They came to the realization that there had to be more to their lives. And they wanted more for the lives of their sons. Their family tightened up their relationships with one another and left the world to fend for itself. Their idea of the American Dream changed as they manifested their own destiny.

The history books will more than likely reflect the lifestyle changes that the pandemic created among Americans. It has certainly upended the way people view employment in two ways; many more people prefer to work from home now since the plague. They desire the autonomy of working from home. With some exceptions, people discovered that business and school could be conducted from anywhere implementing the internet. The world went on spinning with people working from home. And the second way, we have less people who want to work, period. Just ask any employer or farmer how difficult it is to hire and retain employees.

The bottom line comes down to values. What do you value? What makes you feel rich or successful? What is your idea of living the American Dream? Is it owning material things? Some people feel a surge of endorphins as they purchase cute seasonal items to decorate their homes. And then every day we see people selling off their things with online signs that say, “Buy My Stuff”. More people seem to be downsizing, or decluttering as they realize that clutter stresses them.

Most people want financial freedom. If we are lucky and pay close attention to the world, we can see beyond all the attempted money grabs that rob us of our financial freedom. A dollar spent here, a dollar there and before you know it, you’ve got more month than money. Everywhere we look and especially on social media, there are enticements to buy various prod-ucts that promise to tighten or smooth your skin, grow hair, enhance weight loss, or brighten teeth. Companies have gotten sly about using the average person to hawk products for free or for a small pittance to save their advertising dollars while hoping to encourage people to spend excessively or perhaps frivolously their hard-earned money. The lines become blurred between what we need and what we want. I find that I can better curtail my own wants from my needs easier than I can when it comes to my husband or family. I get my endorphin surge from giving to others. It brings me intrinsic happiness.

If you were to think in terms of creating your destiny or your best life, what would that be? Would it center around time? Service to others? Perhaps more time with family? Time spent creating art or to read? I have recognized that I need a purpose. I have found that many people who have retired have realized they lacked it and didn’t enjoy retirement without some purpose. I think a reason to rise in the morning helps people thrive.

When you reach a certain age, I think the realization sinks in that real luxuries are freedoms. Most importantly, freedom to choose how we spend our time and with whom. The ultimate luxury is peace of mind. It’s up to us to find that which brings it to us.

Pam Lowe is the editor of the Clay County Courier. Readers may contact Pam at plowe@cherryroad. com