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.  

What is the goal and how do I get there?

When setting our sights on something or someone we must consider what effect this "something" will have on our life. What will its effect be... Is it of a good influence? If it is neither good nor bad I must count the cost of attaining it and maintaining it in my life. I cannot pursue it in an immoral fashion or at the expense of more important things. Definitely things to consider when making decisions and moving forward in life.

 

I am in the process of life planning as  mentioned in previous posts.  The Stoic reading for today was a post from Marcus Aurelius' Meditations that encourages us to think of the long term effects of something that we are currently "desiring".  This is something I definitely need to consider when it comes to home renovations, etc.  Every plan we make and every thing that we purchase must be a step along the way to the long term goal that we have set before us.  We want our home to be a clean, organized, low maintenance (as much as possible), inviting place for ourselves, family and friends.  We have so many lovely things that we have picked up over the years that we will not need to purchase much.  We just need to revamp what we already have and redesign our home with these goals in mind. It is so easy to want to impress people with what we have, buy the best super tub on the market, when one that is less expensive and yet still attractive and functional will do.  

In all things we need to be careful stewards of what we have in this life.  We need to be fiscally and morally responsible with all of the blessings that we have in this life.  Plan for the future but be totally present in the now.  This is the challenge!  ;)