Little is Needed

Always remember that very little is needed for living a happy life.

Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, book vii, sec. 67

I read this quote this morning and was humbled.  My daughter is getting married early June and only yesterday I was figuring out all the things I want changed in my home before the visiting for the wedding begins.  I was going off the rails ready to make lists and sink down into madness and a scurry of activity for this one weekend.  Wow, this reminder above has put the brakes on that craziness.  Yes I have things that need to be done in our 1960's raised ranch bungalow but I can use discretion and weigh what is necessary against the need to impress others.  


My kitchen needs some reorganization and repairs to make it function well.  The floor needs updating and the paint needs refreshing .  Our downstairs bathroom does need gutting due to some water damage but we can do that within budget and have a modest functioning bathroom.  Our bathroom upstairs need painting and new towel bars... trim needs to be finished in the living room from installing the laminate flooring and the laminate needs to be finished in the entry way closet.

None of this list includes knocking down walls or remodeling the world in order to impress for one day.

More importantly I want to order seeds for the spring and plan my garden so that I will be harvesting our food and living closer to nature this summer.  It really is all about focus and priorities, realizing that enough is good enough.