Creating an Authentic Lifestyle for Yourself and Those You Love.
‘It’s far easier to live an elegant, beautiful life when you don’t have to learn the lessons that delayed gratification teaches us. But having money does not guarantee that we live authentically. Nor does being surrounded by beautiful things guarantee a lifetime of happiness. If you receive heartbreaking news, it’s not more comforting to sob into a damask and silk-tasseled cushion.
When I was beginning the Simple Abundance path and began to wean myself away from worldly distractions for several months by choosing not to read magazines and newspaper,s not to watch the news, and especially not to go shopping (except for groceries and essential kids clothing), the symptoms I experienced were similar to withdrawal pains. At times, I actually felt achy, shaky, and even dizzy. When this occurred, my authentic self would reassure my conscious self (who didn’t think much of the new program) that I was undergoing a deep inner shift in reality. I was learning to differentiate between my needs and my wants and this powerful lesson had to be mastered before I could move forward. I had to learn what I could live without. Whatever I needed I could budget for- in other words, I could have-but self-knowledge had to come first.
When you learn what you can live without, you are able to ask life for the very best because you posses the gift of discernment. You develop patience that enables you to wait gracefully and gratefully until the best arrives because you know it will. You are able to create an authentic life for yourself and those you love because you are able to make conscious choices. “Long after wards, she was to remember that moments when her life changed its direction,” Evelyn Anthony writes in The Avenue of the Dead. “It was not predestined; she had a choice. Or or seemed she had. To accept or to refuse. To take one turning down the crossroads to the future or another.” Turning away from the world and toward your own happiness is the path of authenticity.’ – Sarah Ban Breathnach, Simple Abundance A Daybook of Comfort and Joy
Delayed gratification is certainly something I try to teach my children, not to always want impulsively every single time we are at the store.
But, I must admit, it is really hard for me to not be somewhat ‘down’ when the budgets of our household get tight. Remember, I live with Mr. Nickel, Nickel, Nickel.
When the air conditioner is on and the front door is left open seconds to long… he tells the kids: nickel, nickel, nickel.
When we order each child a children’s meal at a restaurant, and they do not eat it, he hates to see money being thrown away. (He hates the money we spend on eating out to begin with.) These are just simple examples, but there are times he puts our family on a very strict budget. This is how he turns pennies into dollars, I suppose. I could spend it faster than he can make it, given the chance. But, isn’t that the story of many people?
I am always telling Lenny we can not take money to heaven with us. I do not want a fancy life, just a comfortable life. Maybe I should listen to Ms. Sarah Ban Breathnach. Or, maybe, I should just learn to be ok with the bare basics? The simple treasures….I suppose.
‘It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.’ Somerset Maugham