Living in the moment does not have to mean pulling yourself back up financially later. Enjoying your life at this time does not have to equal regrets later on in life. Doing what you want right now does not have to equal lack of responsibility later. Spending a little more than you need to now does not have to equal an empty savings account later. It's all about the stage in life that you are at.
At least that is my philosophy. Hours after a new episode of "Blood, Sweat, and Heels" I found myself in a conversation with someone about Melyssa Ford's life. Of all the women on the show, she is quite possibly the woman we can talk about for hours on end. Her face and name is the one everyone can remember from a decade ago. She is the one on the show that a decade later ventured of a totally new lifestyle that involved downgrading from how she used to live. Her mindset went from having fun when she was younger to living responsibly now that she is much older.
So the conversation about Melyssa started with the money part. The other girl made a comment saying, "I hope Melyssa is putting that money away these days."
My response was, "She probably is. She was younger before. I think even if it got her to this point, she lived her life, and had lavish things when she wanted it, and saw places that she can remember until she dies."
Why are we so concerned when a person hits a hard point in life? Actually on the show Melyssa still has a stylist and a financial account, which most of us don't have. This means she wasn't doing as bad as our minds went to. In fact, on WWHL (Watch What Happens Live) Melyssa said her card was sometimes declined because her financial advisor cut her off. He was controlling her spending to keep her from going broke. He was teaching her how to live according to her new lifestyle at her current stage in life. Nothing about what we're seeing on reality television currently is wrong. It's a transition.
It's hard for many of us to see this because we are teaching each other fear. Due to people like George Zimmerman and Michael Dunn, we're teaching little boys not to play their music loud or walk to the store. Due to a lifetime of financial responsibility we're always telling each other to put off our vacations for later, save the shopping sprees for later, make enough money to pay the bills, etc.
At the same time we watch others live these amazing lifestyles. We watch them go on their fantasy vacations while they have the money to do so, fail and succeed at business ventures they put their minds to, and create life long memories that put smiles on their faces every time they think back to the moments.
We have to stop projecting all this fear upon each other while watching everyone do exactly what they want. Melyssa Ford doesn't regret her younger years, because it gave her some of the best times of her life. So financial irresponsibility should not be what comes to our mind when a person is figuring out how to start all over again in a new career field while controlling her spending. Supportiveness is what should pop up. Following through with our own goals should be what happens. Living In The Moment while the moment is still available should be what we are doing.
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