Spending less money and wanting less stuff has really opened my eyes to the littlest of things. I can't say that I love this journey of pinching pennies and cutting corners and figuring out what I can get at the grocery store for three days with $8.63 (that's just an example) but I do like who I've become. You know how they say that people with disabilities have other heightened senses? A blind man might have hearing 300 times better than someone who can see... I feel like I'm unable/ unwilling to purchase "stuff" comparable to someone else in similar shoes but I find joy in the tiniest of things and the oddest of places. I don't believe that most people really notices as much hidden beauty.
Like the way the sunbeams hit the dust in the air and make it look pretty (and then you think to yourself, "how am I breathing with all that in the air?"). Or when the morning greets you with giant fluffy snowflakes falling to the earth in slow motion... a real life snow globe seemingly filled with jelly. Sitting on the floor reading books with your 2 year old, just overflowing with gratitude and knowing that this is the best life gets (it could not be any sweeter). Smelling something, ash in the air, and transporting 3000 miles to a place that makes your heart soar. Sitting down with a cup of hot coffee (brewed from the cheapest beans you could find) and listening to silence... golden! Driving to work with 7 foot snow banks hugging the path and realizing that for the first time in weeks there is no ice on the road. The sense of delight and absolute calm that can come from that tiny revelation; if you've been there I hope you've found joy in that moment. Hearing wild birds chirping outside... I've reveled in that sound more times then I could count.
Just one of the up-sides to an arduous journey.
I totally have a new appreciation for the little things when I'm trying to make do with a bit less.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog today. I know the feeling of taking the extra time to buy things and making sure they are what I really need. The anticipation of finding an item needed on sale and having a coupon makes my day. I make my shopping trips more like scavenger hunts, oh what good deal can I find today. Sometimes I just cross off an item and decide to do without and that is ok. I think by being frugal, I stay focused in the long run on my goals. You are correct, it is the little things that make the difference and how sad that many people are blindly going thru life and missing the hidden things you described above. I have often thought about the dust and sunbeams before, always makes me laugh. I am always delighted when the laundry is caught up, or I see a purple and green flower or there is the aroma of fresh baked bread coming from the oven, or there are formations of something in the clouds.
ReplyDelete