One of my favorite blogs I read every day is Crazy Aunt Purl. I found her book at Barnes & Noble and never laughed so hard. Then I found her blog and continued to laugh. She often writes about decluttering and paying off debt even though her blog started out about life as a divorced female with lots of cats who found knitting - and wine. Her post from yesterday really hit home as lately so many of her posts do.
I often wonder how much I have put off because timing or something was just not perfect. I recently read the book Not Buying It which the author took a pretty drastic step in not buying anything that wasn't necessary for an entire year. She saved a lot of money, went a little crazy at times but came out of that year adjusting her thoughts from being a consumer to being a citizen. More conscious of the world around her and really getting in touch with herself.
All of these things have led me to really listen and think about my needs vs. my wants. I'm really looking at my world around me and I have abundance even when I feel I don't. I get to eat a variety of foods every day. I get to choose from a variety of clothing to wear every day (even when I have "nothing" to wear). I get to choose from dozens of books, movies or craft projects with which to fill my time. I have a wonderful husband and two bonus kids to enjoy. Not to mention my dog and cat. We have two cars, two TV's, two DVD players.
Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I canceled cable and only watched (and read) biographies for a year. If the only surfing I allowed myself to do was limited to one hour per day and only to websites that would enlighten me. If the only food I ate was organic and non processed. If all I drank was water. Sounds kind of limiting and at the same time really simple and free.
I seem to be getting off track and rambling but these are things I think about.
3 comments:
Loved this post. How often we live our life on automatic pilot. Just being present when we decide to purchase a want or a need is important, because it gives us the opportunity to stop the outside chatter if even for a moment.If we start doing this small thing consistently our life will become more thoughtful & less unconscious.
I read the post you linked to and your post and you've given me a lot of food for thought. :)
Well said. Funny, but the last two Sundays the homily at mass has been about how much stuff we have, and our tendency to count our misfortunes rather than our blessings. Count your blessings!
(we gave up cable & broadcast TV and it's great. No "gimmes" from the kids based on ads. And, we keep the TV off a lot more. It's nice.)
Post a Comment