This week, a former coworker send me the following post link with the message, "This is right up your alley!" Knowing that she was likely right, I excitedly opened the link. What I found there was an uplifting and inspiring reminder of life's simplicity--or at least the simplicity I strive to foster in my own life. Not only that, a mention of one of my favorite authors, Henry David Thoreau (and inspiration for today's title).
This post, called "Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt," by Glennon Doyle Menton at Momastery, made me smile, inspired me to comment, and gave me hope.
After feelings of inadequacy about her kitchen, brought on by readers' offers to update it, she shared,
"But as I lay down to sleep, I remembered this passage from Thoreau’s Walden: 'I say beware of all enterprises that require new clothes and not a new wearer of the clothes.' Walden reminds me that when I feel lacking- I don’t need new things, I need new eyes with which to see the things I already have. So when I woke up this morning, I walked into my kitchen wearing fresh perspectacles."
She goes on to say...
"I am free. I am not bound to spend my precious days on Earth trying to keep up with the Joneses."
Isn't it marvelous? Isn't it nice to know that there are people out there trying to love life instead of dwell on accumulating, updating, buying, and movin' on up?
So, today, here are two pictures of my imperfect, but just perfect kitchen, taken right after a grocery run. I've got working appliances, clean and sturdy counters, spacious cabinets, plenty of food for my family, and so much to be thankful for.
Sometimes, it can be tempting to want the best/ newest/ hippest stuff/ place to live/ car/ clothes/ or even kitchen, but when you stop to reflect on what really matters in your life, do these things truly rank among the most important? If so, why is that? Is there a reason for the fixation on stuff rather than relationships, family, and how you spend your time?
Even though I created Making Mindfulness to address mindfulness in daily life, beyond simply being present, mindfulness, for me, encompasses seeing beyond stuff, wealth, and status. Gratitude is being content with your present circumstance and present moment. It is existing AND being happy in my existence. As Thoreau says, "my thanksgiving is perpetual." And this is an essential part of making mindfulness.
What do you have to be grateful for today?Labels: Go Ahead--Try It!, Life, Mind & Body
