Just be.

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

Martin Luther King Jnr.

And so we come to frugal tip number 13.... and it will have to be a quick one becuase I have a wash to hang out, dinner on the stove, the dog is barking at the door and my son is having a tanty in the other room. It's only a matter of time before my husband comes in and demands my presence, my son loses it COMPLETELY and the dog scratches through the door. I can smell the dinner burning...and well, bugger the washing because I am exhausted.
But I am so happy. Very, Very happy.

What??? I can hear you say. But that sounds crazy. And it is. And frugal tip number 13 is a bit out there too. Be happy with what you have.

This is really a continuation of yesterdays tip but expanded a little. I beg of you to stay with me, even if you think this tip is a bit "airy fairy" and has nothing to do with money. Because it does. Let me continue.

I have always been chasing something. I don't exactly what it was, but it was always something. And the chasing meant lot's and lot's of spending. Travelling. Decorating. Shopping. EBay. Amazon. Etsy. Changing. Always searching, searching, searching.

And then the searching stopped. My husband was sick and money stopped coming in. Now I was pining. Wishing for things and stuff and situations that I couldn't afford, didn't have time for and couldn't possibly do. It was sad really. I was feeling sorry for myself, feeling stuck in a rut. I was living in a continual world of 'want', yet I had absolute no idea of my needs.

One day I read a book. And two words jumped out at me.

Just be.

And my whole perspective changed. I started to look at what I had. And it was everything. A beautiful son. A loving (yet ill) husband. A beautiful home. Wonderful family. Fantastic friends. Food on my plate. A job that I loved. And the list went on and on.

I thought I wanted so much. I needed so little. I had it all. Amazing.
And that's when the spending stopped. Right then. Amazing.

Sitting here listening to my son talking as he draws another picture for Daddy and Daddy laughing as his son describes his drawing,  smelling a dinner ready to fill my belly,  having a roof over my head to keep me dry and warm and feeling a loving heart- I can't help but feel a wonder at it all. And I wonder how I never saw all this goodness in front of me before.

Just be.

If you haven't read the amazing book I refer to - get yourself a copy from the library - or ask me. I will happily lend it to you.


The Art Of Happiness. H.H. the Dalai Lama & Howard C. Cutler