Importance Pt 2

This is an addendum to the previous post about what is important in life.
People spend their entire lives working to get stuff. Any stuff. Whatever stuff that is currently desirable. It can be things, like big screen TVs, computers, books, whatever. It can also be more nebulous things, like travel, spas, again whatever. Or it can be excesses of otherwise good things, like eating out all the time, or drinking in bars a lot. The common denominator is that people work a lot to get all these things that really don't matter. They are generally pretty fun or comfortable or exciting, but how amazing would life be if everyone spent it more focused on what really matters?
Some cultures foster this very thing. I'm thinking Italian, but many others as well. With Italians, family is everything. From birth till death, the family is the one thing that is constant. Solid. Dependable.
I think that Americans have lost that entirely, and have instead shifted their focus to getting "stuff", as described above. I used to pride myself by claiming to not be interested in the acquisition of "stuff", but on reflection I find that I am as guilty as everyone else. My stuff just happens to be travel to far-off places, and the bits of hardware that allow me to do that safely. But it's just the same as going to WalMart and buying the biggest TV they sell.
I'm not trying to justify my behavior by claiming that it is because of "American Culture" that I chose my path. Because, I "chose" my path. I did it.
Now I want to do something completely different. However I get there, I now want to refocus on friends, family. Things that really matter.

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