November is here (can you even believe it??) and it’s an excuse to share some thoughts about abundance and gratitude. For a while now I’ve been endeavoring to have less stuff because I’ve been overwhelmed by clutter for years. It seems cliche to say but you really don’t notice the stuff piling up and up over such a long period of time. Not that long ago I was a college student renting my first apartment. At that time we didn’t have any furniture and nowhere near any money with which to buy any. Yet we didn’t feel deprived or lacking. Fast forward (a while) and so much of the time I feel so much want and lack. I have more resources now so I can buy many of the useless things I want. And I feel so much less happy and less free.
I know that chucking everything and living an ascetic life is not for me, that’s not going to be a viable solution. So what to do? I’m going to spend this month (for starters) buying as few new things as is possible. That will prevent at least some accumulation. But more importantly I am going to use and appreciate what I already have. I’m writing about this now, this month, because lately I found myself directing my focus about clutter on the pantry (and the other pantry, and that one high cabinet filled with nothing but baking stuff and that’s really painful now that I’m trying to do the low-carb thing). So my plan is this: try to use up more than half of the things stashed in the pantry rather than buy more new food. (I’m not going to count long-term use things like the Torani syrup collection the hubby uses to make italian sodas, we do NOT need to use up the italian soda stash in one month.)
More importantly, in doing this exercise I feel I will appreciate the ridiculous abundance in my life (in this case evidenced by shelf upon shelf of food items). The best thing I can do with stuff that I’ve already bought is to use it, enjoy it, and appreciate it. What disastrous recipes will ensue? Let’s see!
What are you grateful for? What is abundant in your life?
