At $3.66 per gallon for the "cheap stuff," gas is at an all time high.  And I'm not just talking about the stuff that goes in the car.  Although $3.66 gas is a primary cause of my other gas problem of late.  But is it really a problem?

Sure, world energy consumption is going through the roof, speculators are driving the price of all sorts of energy products sky high which drives up transportation costs, manufacturing prices, agricultural prices, pretty much everything.  Throw in a bunch of either, very greedy or very stupid banks and some very gullible and ill-informed consumers and you get a mortgage melt down for which we are all going to be paying.  The "R" word is being tossed around like it is the end of the world.  It is a wonder we all don't have gas.  And while the other "R" word, "Rolaids" might help, (and might also count as a qualified medical expense, and as such could be paid for from your Health Savings Account), we might want to think about other ways to perfume this swine.

I'm not an economist but I do know

that consumption drives manufacturing, manufacturing creates jobs, jobs drive money back into the economy (consumption) and so the circle continues.  The problems seem to arise when our consumption outpaces our means to pay it for it (the whole mortgage thing, buying too much stuff on credit with no real way to pay it back, stuff like that). 

So we are going to have to back away from the pig trough and work our way through this painful time.  Well, maybe not painful for everyone, but for a lot of us.

But this is not intended to be a totally depressing rant.  Moreover, it is intended to help us take a look around us, and think about putting our lives in order.  In fact, what's going on right now is the kind of things that create tremendous opportunity.  Huh??  Got Gas?

If you pull a pig away from the pig trough, he (or she) will start to lose weight.  Now, I'm not suggesting that we are all a bunch of pigs but most of us could probably afford to shed a few pounds.  And I am not just talking about losing weight here.

This very painful economic period gives us a tremendous opportunity to look at our bad habits and begin to modify them to our own physical, mental, and financial benefit.   We can start with the little things like turning off the lights, maybe changing our eating habits, spending less time in the car which will not only save gas but give us a bit more of our lives back to do things like exercise, share a meal with our families, or maybe spend some time in reflection or getting closer to God.  I've said in these blogs before, "CHANGE ONE THING."  And then change another and then another.  It is amazing how much better you will feel about yourself and the world around you.  And if we all have this mindset, our little gas problem will take care of itself.