Last week, I was trying to finish an episode of “Breaking Bad” I'd slept through the night before. While I was waiting for the show to start, I started thinking about getting a pool. This is not the first time the idea has popped into my vast cavern of pondering. About two years ago, I went as far as having a pool designed. Surprisingly, when the design was about done, Patti and I realized we were going well beyond the confines of a reasonable budget. The idea was tabled.
Anyway, thinking about a pool led to my pondering a question about the bigness of my life. I wondered if I could live a life where all I did was go to work and come home each day. Home and work is all I would do. What if I built a playground for myself at home where I could always amuse myself. Would I like to live like that? That led me to the consideration of whether my life is bigger or smaller than it was ten years ago.
To answer the question, you have to define what constitutes bigger and smaller. What is it that adds or subtracts from your life? Is it the addition or subtraction of people? If it is, how close do you have to be to the people for them to count? Is a bigger life created by going more places, or can life be broadened by simply paying attention to the places you presently go to? What effect does money have on the size of your life?
I guess what makes a life bigger or smaller is much like beauty: It's in the eye of the beholder, and it's a little different for everybody.
Finally, my musings were interrupted by “Breaking Bad” starting. I have spent an inordinate amount of time watching the show since the first of the year. I have watched episodes on my phone. I have watched it at lunch on Netflix. I have watched the show almost every night since New Years. Last Sunday, I watched six episodes in a row. All I want to do is finish the series. I am like a guy with a loyalty card from a sandwich shop that I regularly go to - but don’t really like: I just want to get enough punches to get my free sandwich. When I'm done, I'm never coming back.
My obsession with the show has made my life smaller. I've spent every extra hour trying to watch another episode. Every night this month, I've fallen asleep watching the adventures of Walt and Jesse. It's shrink wrapped my life like no other show in the past. “Breaking Bad” will now and forever represent January 2014 for me.
The sad part about what I have just admitted to is that it has taken me all month to get through the series. I should have been able to finish the series in a two short weeks. Maybe the best way to expand your life is to be more productive. Maybe, the answer is doing less. Whatever the real answer is, I'm sure it's not found in trying to become the biggest meth producer in the “ABQ.” That's true for everybody, especially those of us way up in the CHEAP SEATS!
Bill James is a co-founder of the James Law Firm with offices in Little Rock, Conway and Fayetteville, Arkansas. His primary area of practice is criminal defense. He can be contacted at Bill@JamesFirm.com