Its a busy week up here in Maine, work deadlines and monthly female woes have me under the weather so I may be a tad sporadic in posting this week. That said, I wanted to share something that I read this week from this book SimpleAbundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy. The author wrote this book during the economic downturn of the 1990’s but clearly with the financial happenings going on at present the lessons can be applied to our current day.
Too many of us of, yours truly included seek security in having financial stability yet as we are learning in this downturn, our so-called stability from either our seemingly stable jobs (not) to our hefty savings in 401K’s and other financial instruments can be taken away at any time. Even those plastic cards we keep in our wallets can suddenly mean less if the card issuers decide to take away our high limits.
So in these turbulent times, I invite you to join me on the quest for financial serenity…to seek peace no matter where we are financially. If you are like me, you may have a mountain of debt yet if your basics such as shelter and food are taken care of, then you have much to be thankful for. In today’s NY Times, there is a piece about the growing numbers of families across the country who have lost their homes but are living in motels…folks who were formerly middle class and at the moment are not being tallied as homeless, they are living below the radar. It goes without saying, these folks are having a rough time.
It also served as a reminder that as I look at my large house that through God’s grace and blessings, no longer carries a mortgage, though I will of course have to pay insurance and taxes that I am indeed blessed. So while the daily news is grim, lets look at what we have and be thankful.
Catch ya later…happy Hump Day!
I’m grateful for the visit and enjoy the words. I’ll visit again soon.
Excellent food for the spirit today BGIM! And Raet, right on point as usual. I am looking forward to and preparing for simpler, back-to-basic days. It’s about time for things to get back into balance and that means the way things have been has got to change. Things have got so way out of control, it didn’t even make sense. We had to know it would not go on forever.
We very recently paid off our car and it felt really good. We have learned a lot of lessons that we will not soon forget because of that car. I’m grateful that I can now honestly call it mine. So I know how you feel about the house in a way.
In everything, though, we just give thanks for what we do have and never lose sight of it. We practice contentment. Giving thanks in and of itself is a powerful meditation.
I really don’t worry too much about finances. I am so blessed to have all that I have. It would be silly to think that gross capitalism would last forever. I have traveled and have seen people with so much less than I have and smiling. It would be selfish and non-goddess like to cry about not having enough money to splurge at Whole Foods or take a vacation. Things are just coming full circle; we are coming back to reality. Honestly, it’s not even cool to live in a world where a minority has more wealth than they know what to do with, while everyone else gets scraps. It is time for a change, whether people like it or not.
A friend from Ghana sent me pictures of the Ghanaian sunset. I so want to go back. But, I cannot afford it right now. I remember people living in simplicity. What makes Americans any better than them? We all are about to come down to earth. The wealth really needs to be balanced anyway.
I have nothing to complain about financially. I’m not well off and live pay check to pay check. But, I have plenty! Live and let Goddess/God.