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It takes a long time to build towards something that you truly want to accomplish. When there is something that you care enough to make every effort to make it happen, it might take just about everything that you've got. If not, it almost always takes a lot of focus and dedication and patience, which tend not to be among the virtues that our society truly recognizes or honors.

What we are led to believe, even if this message is never directly, explicitly mentioned, is that you can have everything, and right now, with little to no effort. There are twelve step programs to break addictions, twelve step programs to getting the job that you want, or to achieving financial success. Turn on the infomercials late at night, and you will find other can't miss deals that it's best to steer clear of. You will have a limited time offer to buy your very own Sham Wow, and if you order in the next few minutes (because he can't keep doing this type of deal for everyone, all of the time - even though the same commercial plays over and over again for everyone, all of the time), you will get a second Sham Wow for free. Not only that, but they will throw in the Super Duper Sham Wow, all for a small monthly installment plan. Not interested? How about this incredible exercise machine to finally get you the results that you want for the perfect body? They will show you the torso of a perfectly sculpted man, every muscle rippling, a serious and focused expression on his face. If it's for women, they will show you a gorgeous woman with dream curves, usually bending in skin tight spandex. the body that you want, and it takes just ten minutes a day. You can see results within the first week, and if you don't get the results you want within eight weeks or are not completely satisfied, they will guarantee your money back! So order now, and don't delay, because these are going fast - although like the Sham Wow, you see these same products being advertised on the same infomercials over and over and over again.

Of course, these are the most extreme examples of an unfortunately growing trend that seems to reflect the sense of entitlement among adults in this country that would be more appropriately placed among children. Usually, a child will see something desirable and wish to have it, right away, not understanding the work and dedication it takes to reach that goal. When I was a little boy, I was no different. I would read comic books, and wished that I had many of the super powers that these super heroes had. I wanted the rippling muscles that wrestlers and boxers had. I wanted the money and power of the big movers and shakers in the world. I wanted to be super smart, to achieve academic success, and for it to come easily (at least for me). I wanted to achieve the independence and seeming wisdom of adults, and was too impatient for results "down the road", or to achieve any or all of this "some day". Everything that I saw around me that was desirable, was what I wanted to be, what I wanted to have. I would have a beautiful wife and healthy and happy kids and a big home and a fancy sports car and a dream existence. Of course, I would have the perfect body, and everybody would be envious of me. I see the same thing now from an adult perspective this time, as a father. My son wants huge, rippling muscles, reminds everyone within ear shot that he is incredibly strong and super tough and can knock you down. He wishes that he could grow claws out of his knuckles, like Wolverine, and asks me if I do not wish for the same for him. There are toys that he wishes he could have. The list of wants is endless.I guess it's fair to say, like father, like son, because I was indeed the same way.

Things change, however. My experiences were different than I had expected, yet this was not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I rather enjoyed the different path that my life went along in, because it was different that that of most others, as well, and it was real. I do not have those rippling muscles. I do not have the fancy sports car, or the spacious and mansion with the rich decor, situated on the large estate, and with a nice long driveway (maybe circular?) to park that awesome sports car of mine on. Nope, I don't really have any of that. My life is not always dreamy, as I imagined. Happiness is hard to come by, and does not seemingly get easier with age. At least, that has not been my experience so far. Adulthood is in large part about coming to terms with the reality that eluded us during the height of our childhood dreams. We put away childish things, and try and come to terms with a more realistic future. It is not easy, but we know we have to try. We can look longingly towards childhood days, but if we can succeed as adults, we had better learn to adjust and compromise in just about everything. I like the way Sheryl Crow put it:

"It's not having what you want, 
it's wanting what you've got"

Of course,I do not have all that I wanted as a child. Yet, I am not completely unhappy with my life. True, I have yet to fully learn how to appreciate all that I have been blessed with, although I am making improvements with this everyday. Far from perfect indeed, but I am not all that bad of a person to be. I do not have those wrestler or boxer kind of muscles, but I never took the steroids that most of those guys took to get them, either. I am in decent shape, and am appreciative for the good health that it is my privilege to enjoy. I do not have a McMansion and a manicured estate paid for by a high salaried position, but I also am not working in a place that actively makes people's lives more difficult and stressful, like many in the financial enterprises do, and now seemingly more than ever before. I used to dream about being President, or having some influential office like that, but I see those who are viewed as viable candidates, and find myself glad not to be able to relate to the ego and arrogance on display among them.

I do not have all that I dreamed of, but I am pursuing my adult dreams little by little, slowly, trying to build something real up over time. Patience is what it takes, and I am trying. It remains to be seen whether these efforts will meet with success, ultimately, but at least I am trying.

What gets me is that a lot of adults seem to take childish positions. They might not admit it out loud, but they want the instant results that they have been led to believe in, that has been marketed to them. We collectively have been fed lies for all of our lives, and still we collectively swallow what we are given to swallow. We have grown up in a rich country that it's citizens believe to be "Number 1", and we hear our supposed leaders confirm this, perennially claiming this to be "the greatest country" on Earth, and sometimes, we hear it referred to as "God's country" even still. It goes without saying that people want to believe this, and once they do believe it, believing in certain other things, whether or not true, becomes a lot easier. After all, people believe what they want to believe. Especially the affluent, and it is true that the United States was, for a long time, the most affluent nation of all. What is happening now in our country, the way things seem to be falling apart all around us, all at once, is a product of this arrogance that we allowed ourselves to indulge in, collectively. Like spoiled children, we believed so much, that we never questioned it, and lived a way of life that we could not actually afford. Now, it has come back to bite us, but we are still collectively too spoiled to really try and understand that changed need to be made. When Obama was first elected, he was deified by many, and very quickly once he assumed office, he was demonized just as quickly, because it was proven that he did not have a magic wand with which to fix all of the country's numerous problems, and instantly. In both instances and extremes, people had mistaken expectations - namely, that one man was going to allegedly come in and fix everything quickly. Put to right what was wrong. No wonder our problems just grow worse and worse.

Aside from politics, we are experiencing some kind of collective moral break down, as well. As much as our government is in debt, we individually tend to be highly in debt. Borrowing money to live a standard of life that we cannot actually afford has become our way of life. It is now the "American way". Much like expecting instant results without actually putting in much, if any, actual effort.

We seem to have lost sight of the well known truth that anything worth having takes time and effort. When we see a star athlete performing heroics, or some boxer, perhaps, that is sculpted full of muscles, we only see the final result of the hard work and dedication that likely took a lifetime to achieve. Similarly, someone who worked hard to achieve financial success had to endure a lot, and more than likely, it was a result of hard work and dedication to achieving a dream that took a lifetime.

We need to stop looking for short cuts, and to start building up our patience, as well as our appreciation for what we have been blessed with. In the west in general, and in this country in particular, we have been blessed with a lot that we should feel thankful for. There really is no reason to complain. The question, then, is why is everybody complaining, and so loudly, to boot?