ACROSS the Board By Patrick Adams
God, country, family... and less important things s life getting more confusing? More complicated? More stressful? I was having a conversation recently with a “young person.” There are two ways to consider that last statement— either I’m getting old or hopefully grateful that I’ve lived long enough to see things differently. The answer is both. Regardless, the conversation started based on her struggle with the current environment and the challenges that go along with it. It is a confusing and overwhelming time for people and perhaps especially for young adults. If you were in her shoes and watched the news for the past year, I think it might be overwhelming. You might wonder what your future has in store for you, and how do you navigate towards “success” or “happiness”? It’s interesting because I remember a time when those words felt like nouns to me. They were something of a goal that you could one day achieve and felt as though they were meant to be measurable. I think a LOT of people still believe they are, but they lie just out of reach “if only” (fill in the blank) would happen. Today, I run across countless people of all ages “in search” of these things. They spend their time considering what they “need” tomorrow to achieve these seemingly insurmountable goals of their life. Today, it seems the number of unsettled people has grown in relation to how long the daily news’ list of breaking news is. Every day, there is no shortage of news to be concerned about, to stress about, and, accordingly, to shift your priorities away from. I saw the angst on this young person’s face as she described what was bothering her. While it would have been easy to simply say, “It will all be OK” or “Oh, just wait until you get older,” I instead just listened. As she was talking, it took me back to my younger years when my life felt much more complicated than it is now, in spite of my life being exponentially more complicated today. I remember feeling like the things I was tasked with, or political issues, or the economy, or friends, or a relationship at the moment being paramount to life and death decisions. As if my entire future hung in the balance of these massive events that unfolded, and changed by the second and somehow, I had to make immediate decisions or my fate would be doomed. But something changed at some point in my life without me realizing it. Everything became easier and less stressful. I became more clear about why I was here, and what I was supposed to do. And, my happiness and peace became fueled by only one thing—being grateful. I realized that my purpose was to serve: God, my country, and my family. They are all bigger than me and yet, if I can somehow serve
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those things greater than me, it gave me purpose. It put “me” in perspective, how small I am in the grand scheme of things and yet, how incredibly grateful I am for what I have every single day. No matter how tough that day happens to be, I have ingrained in how much worse my life could have turned out, and still could be. I realize that this gratitude and purpose is simple, but it’s not easy. After I listened to this young person, she paused and waited knowing that I’m not a person short on words. I tried to keep my response short and it was simply, “I wish the me today could have talked to the me at your age because I would have told him not to worry, but to thank God every day for another day, if you’re blessed enough to get it, because it’s not guaranteed for any of us. To think about how to make our country a better place, to be a role model, and to be worthy of the sacrifice of those who serve to provide this wonderful place to live. And, to serve those you love everyday as if it is your last, to never take the time with them for granted, and to accept their love as the greatest payment you could receive. Everything else is not important or worthy of stressing over.” I hope that during this interesting time in the world, you find the time to ignore the less important things and instead, find your peace and happiness in the few things that truly matter. As always, I am grateful for the privilege of serving you and this great industry.
Patrick S. Adams Publisher/President padams@526mediagroup.com
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The Merchant Magazine n
April 2021
Building-Products.com
