Reflection
Discovering what is “enough” in life frees us to share our abundance with others. This is the season when the pressure to buy comes to us wrapped in the lure of attractive advertising. We are made to think we need to give more and more things. The rush to buy presents overpowers the gift of giving love. The pressure can exhaust us. Simple living is the opposite of this and is based in gratefulness and reality. We find satisfaction, in life’s gifts of friendship, family, the bounty of nature and the beauty of the season. These are things we can share without cost or pressure. We are happy with what we have and begin to simply live.
Prayer
May I remember the words of Paul,
”Be joyful always; pray continually;
give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Action
I will prayerfully review the blessings in my life.
Suggested Reading
With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God.
Philippians 4.6
Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
Who covers the heaven with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth,
who makes grass to grow upon the mountains.
Psalm 147:7-8
Standing before the manger, we understand that the food of life is not material riches but love, not gluttony but charity, not ostentation but simplicity,
ope Francis
Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning sun can give a sense of quiet in a crowded day – like writing a poem, or saying a prayer.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.
Albert Einstein
Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” –
Marcus Aurelius
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly. . .This is my symphony.
William Ellery Channing
I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.
Anonymous
Simplicity is the exact nedium between too little and too much.
Sir Joshua Reynolds