Our problems change as we grow and change and the world changes too. Can you remember your earliest problems? As I think back, the first problem I remember was a big problem. My little brother climbed up on the washing machine and drank the chlorine bleach. He was rushed the hospital in an ambulance and had his stomach pumped. As a little girl, I remember the worry in the grown-up's eyes. I remember the ambulance men carrying my brother. I remember the ambulance lights, and I remember the relief when my parents brought my brother home.
Later, I remember the bigger problems in my early life mostly involved getting along with siblings. There were many typical arguments related to sharing and choosing. After that, in junior high, the problems were greater. It was a time when drugs were just entering society in a bigger way. There were times when lockers were searched and the police came to our junior high. I also remember a lot of teasing in those years as students formed cliques and judged one another as they tried to figure out where they fit in. Problems related to changing bodies were big at that time--I remember not understanding those changes well and being quite uncomfortable with that.
In high school, the problems related a lot to time management. I was simply way too busy and too tired during those years. My days were totally consumed, so busy that my initial reaction to college life was that it was peaceful. For the first time in years, I had time and space. I liked that. In college problems related to procrastination and identity--who was I and why didn't I complete my studies in a timely manner?
After college, identity issues continued as I looked for a job, worked in a number of places, dated, and engaged in lots of friend/family-related events. Then when I married and had a family the problems related more to priorities than anything else--what mattered most and how to meet all the priorities that existed.
Right now after childhood, school, and big family responsibilities, there are the fewest problems. The biggest quest now is how to do what I can to contribute in meaningful, positive ways. This is a good problem to focus on. I love the fact that I mostly own my time and choice right now. It's a good place to be, a place where I find myself wanting to contribute to others in ways that lessen their struggles and increases their capacity for good living. Onward.