Making something out of nothing is an art form. I think it comes from not having much growing up. It comes from lack. When you lack and then receive the things you are lacking, you know how to make the best of it. How to appreciate small things and underestimated people.
Coming from a background of not necessarily being poor but having just enough has me appreciate just enough. I can take my ordinary life and appreciate that I have ordinary things; bed, stove, heat, hot water, meals, socks, undergarments.
Visiting a friend yesterday, we were walking through the mall. As I began to look around at the swarm of people packed in a mall on a Saturday, I felt cramped and wondered how else I could spend my time. I recalled long periods of time in my life where buying things gave me happiness; momentarily of course. I recalled full paychecks spent on clothing, shoes, houseware, accessories, things that held no value.
Going through a tough time in your life brings you to realize there is a bigger picture and it does not include all these materials. Nor does it include petty arguments, jealousy, right or wrong, better than, prettier than, silent treatments or grudges.
The bigger picture is the moments in your life when you can appreciate enough. When enough is all you need. We live in a world where reaching for more comes with no end results, other than exhaustion, lack, self-pity, victimhood and a race to a finish line that ends in death-physically and spiritually.
For a bigger picture, ask yourself, what purpose does this thing have in my life? Will it enrich it in any way? Will it teach me something? Is it something I need for survival? Things are just that; things. The more one accumulates the more they need of it. Usually, the thing that they need is never enough either in that each year it seems to change in capability and function; it gets better or bigger and one must discard of the old thing in order for the better model.
One needs just enough of materialism and more of the things we are lacking that enrich our lives; love, conversations, connections, hugs, discussions, ideas, silence, stillness, nature, stargazing, reading, understanding, openness, truth, honesty and all the things that make us humans and not dehumanize us.
The bigger picture is not found in a mall, your closet or pantry or refrigerator. Not found at your job or inside your car. It’s not an app you can download and log things in. It is not a reminder on your phone or a series on Netflix.
It is the picture in your mind of the life you lived without holding back any of the things you were created to do and be
Shifting Slowly 