Simple
Living Amidst a Holiday Frenzy
by Mark Brandenburg MA, CPCC
We were sitting in the family room. My kids had finished their first day back
at school after the holiday break, and my wife was working late. My six-year-old
son was finger knitting, and my eight-year-old daughter was knitting a scarf.
I sat near them and folded clothes. Occasionally someone would share something
that had happened during the day, but otherwise it was quiet.
And as we sat there doing our chores, I began to appreciate this time we were
spending together. The orgy of presents, travel, and Christmas cookies was over.
The routines and rhythms of the work week had begun again. My kids needed structure
as badly as I did, and we were getting it by being together in this quiet, simple
way.
As I sat there folding clothes, I marveled at how little we really needed to
be happy. It was quite enough just to be together as we did our work. Many of
the gifts my kids received for Christmas were already put away. As often happens,
there was a brief flurry of excitement when the gifts were first discovered.
Shortly after, the thrill of ownership faded away.
And while my kids may be too young to understand it, Id like them to
know that possessions dont really make them happy. When you live in a
materialistic society, its just the message you receive. As author Christopher
Lasch states, A mass advertising culture creates consumers who are
perpetually unsatisfied, restless, anxious, and bored.
Id like my kids to know someday that the pursuit of possessions has made
more people unhappy than happy, and that it actually ends up limiting their
freedom of choice in the world. Id like them to know that possessions
can keep them focused on their own self-interest, rather than focusing on how
they can benefit others.
And Id like them to know that one of the keys to a happy life is the
pursuit of simple pleasures, which, in todays day and age, is an act of
courage.
I thought about all of the possessions I had somewhere in the house. How many
of them had I really used in the last 6 months?
How many of them really had an impact on my life, or made me happy beyond the
first few minutes of receiving them?
Only a handful.
And as I sat there with my kids enjoying our time together, I sensed that
more trips to the Goodwill were in order, as well as a greater commitment to
simple living in our family. John Burroughs, the nineteenth-century naturalist,
observed that The number of things we can really make our own is limited.
We cannot drink from the ocean be we ever so thirsty. A cup of water from the
spring is all we need.
As parents in America today, were often made to feel thirsty. Were
made to feel as though we need to provide the latest gadgets for ourselves,
and for our children. And it seems that at the rate were going, these
gadgets will cost us most of our money, and most of our time.
Dont be fooled. All you and your kids really need is a cup of water
from the spring.
Its all weve ever needed.
About the Author Mark Brandenburg
MA, CPCC, coaches busy parents by phone to balance their life and improve their
family relationships.
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