From the time we were little, we wanted to fast forward our life. When I was four, I wanted to get to five, so I could go to school. Then when I went to school, I could not wait till I turned eighteen. When I was eighteen, I could not wait till I was twenty-one. At work, we can't wait till quitting time. We do the same thing with our kids. We can't wait till they walk. Then when they walk, we want them to stop walking. Seems like every part of their life, we concentrate on wishing they were at the next level. For some reason we feel like the next state of a situation will be much better.

Have you noticed? It never is. Then we get to a certain age and we want to go backwards. We never seem to be satisfied with were we are. We have a "Grass is greener" mentality. We figure if I get another job, it will be better. It will defiantly get better if  I make more money. All I need to do is get rid of my spouse for a younger more vibrant person and my life will be great. Boy, I was wrong there!!!

Most of us go through our whole life looking for that greener pasture. We can see it in the distance, but we just can reach it. What is it? What makes us feel like satisfaction is just around the corner? Is it motivation? Do we work hard to be a better person?

Then you see that guy that always seems to be in a great mood. He gives you that big smile and he belts out that hardy "GOOD MORNING" to you. He always seems to be concerned how you are doing. He always wishes that you have a "GREAT" day. Not a good day, a GREAT day. You smile at him and you try to get away from him as quick as possible. As soon as he leaves, your first thought is: "What kind of drugs is he taking? It is seven o'clock in the morning. Doesn't he realize that? Didn't he listen to the news this morning? How could he be so happy with all those young kids getting killed in the Iraq? Didn't he hear about the possible layoffs that are going to happen next week? Didn't he hear about the baby girl that was left in the mini van yesterday and died of heat stroke?

The answer is, probably not. As the day go's on, you can't help to wander how that extremely happy person can be that way. Has he finally caught that greener grass? The answer is. No. That green grass was always under his feet. It may have been brown at one point in his life, but somehow he learned how to keep it green.

Growing grass is a not as easy as it seems. I am one of those obsessed grass guys. I love to see green grass. It is a passion of mine. Funny thing is. I live out in the middle of the woods. Know one can see my accomplishment. It is not as easy as you think. Every couple of months you have to fertilize it. You can't use the same fertilizer either. Each season brings a different need. You have to watch out for bugs to. Let a weed go for a few days and the next thing you know, there are hundreds of them. You can't rely on Mother Nature to water your grass. Let your grass go for a couple of hot August days without water and you will have a hay field.

So what does all this have to do with being satisfied and happy in your life? It has everything to do with it. Most people go through life in a daze. They don't take time to fertilize there mind with good information. They don't pull out the bad weeds that make them angry or upset.

You are being bombarded by negativity from the time you get up till the time you go to bed. You are constantly being told that if you just do this, and it will make you happier, or if you just purchase that, your life will be much easier. You're being preyed upon and you don't even realize it. After a while, those weeds get deeply rooted in your grass. They become almost impossible to remove.

So here you are. Your grass is brown. You have tumble weeds rolling across it. What can you do to make your grass a thick, lush green patch of heaven? ATTITUDE. You have to change your attitude. The way you do that is to stop listening and reading all the bad news. There is nothing you can do about the war. You can't bring that little girl back to life. If you loose your job, you have to believe that God has something better for you. Worrying about it is not going to save your job.

I have to admit, my attitude was probably one of the worst. I was to the point that bad news brought me comfort. I hung out with negative people to get my negative fix. I thought if I heard how bad everyone else had it, I would feel better. It was almost like a drug. I had to keep taking stronger and stronger negative drugs to feel better. Then I went cold turkey. I got rid off all my negative friends. I stopped listening to the news. I very rarely listen to the radio. When I heard people complaining, I walk the other way unless someone had a real problem. At first I tried to be that happy guy. For the longest time I was very fake. It was so hard to be pleasant and so happy. I was living a lie. I did not believe myself, but I kept on going. I was determent to grow my grass.

Finally I added some fertilizer (appreciation) to my grass. I started to appreciate everything I had. Every morning and every night, I thanked God for every little thing that I had. It brought my life into perspective. I remind myself how blessed I truly am. When the negative thoughts come into my head, I can most off the time spray them with weed killer. I replace the thought will a positive thought. This is not an easy thing to do in the beginning, but it does get much easier.

Now I water my grass everyday. The negativity is all around us. It is impossible to ignore and circumnavigate all of it. The only option it to water you minds with good things. I listen to personal growth CD's and read self help books all the time. I seek out positive people, always try to find the brighter side of life. I changed my attitude on life. I no longer wish my day away. I look for opportunities to make it better and end up wishing I had more time.

In May 1877, The Morning Oregonian included a story with this opinion:
"Oh I say, drawled Gerard; 'life's too short to be wasted talking about a woman. Let's go and get some beer."

That was the first recorded saying of "Life is too short" We need to slow down and enjoy what we have. Stop running for that greener pasture and cultivate the grass you have under you own two feet.