I just finished reading this article from the Ensign on being content. It pretty much sums up how I've been feeling lately. https://lds.org/ensign/2011/02/learning-to-be-content?lang=eng
I often find myself not being happy with what I have. If you talked to a doctor they'd diagnose me with "the grass is always greener on the other side" syndrome.
For some reason I forget about the amazing things I do have. Yes, there are always going to be bigger better & much prettier "things" out there just waiting to be obtained. However there are also plenty of people out there who survive on much less & are completely safe, secure & happy. Being dependant on worldly things or having those things define me is something I've strived to change lately.
For instance my wedding ring it's absolutely gorgeous, huge & worth more than the cars I drove in high school, all three combined. It never came off my finger, not even to wash my hands. In the past 11 years we've been married my finger has grown a bit. Consequently the ring needed to be cut off. We were going to resize it but then I decided to try a simple band, no diamond. I found one that was regularly $50 but I got it for only $13. It has been one of the best things. Seriously I haven't missed that huge rock I sported on my left hand & I've had this thing for months. Also I realized we do live in a very beautiful home & have more space than what's necessary. I know life would be easier if we had another living room/playroom or tv (we have lots of nieces & nephews, friends with kids, eventually we will have kids of our own). How many kids live in a small 1 story house or tiny apartment & do just fine? Tons. The house I grew up in was much smaller & have wonderful memories of it. Thousands of people live in homes with dirt floors outside of this country & couldn't be happier. Why can't I be happy with less? Who knows. The one thing I do know is that I CAN change.
Time to grab a big fat permanent marker & write the words "The Grass is Pretty Darn Green HERE!" all over my walls.
8 comments:
When our friends started having feelings like what you have described they would come visit us and leave feeling pretty darn good about what they had!
I loved that article too. It is so easy to look at all the things we don't have, and then I realize how ungrateful I am being for all the blessings I do have.
Amen, Sist'a. Being in the Spanish Branch has really opened my eyes to how blessed we really are. Some of them have 3 families living in one trailer house. And here I am complaining about our house here! And our neighbor's husband died last week, he bled to death! I am blessed to have a living husband!
Oh my goodness Nat, sorry to hear about your neighbor's husband.
yep. So true. i really do try to count my blessing each and everyday. There will always be ppl that have more than us, but also MANY ppl who have way less. I think being so poor for our first few years of marriage really has made me grateful for every little thing I have. the hard part is trying to instill that in my children.... If I fail that task I will be doing them a great injustice.
I also liked the article "Make Yours a Great Life". Such good advice! The more I've let go of things, the happier I've been.
Great thoughts! I enjoyed them so much. The Lord always blesses us and is so good to us. Way to count your blessings. :)
Chris, I have been totally going through this lately and that article really hit home. No pun intended..."home"...anyway, I've been thinking like you, what if we had one extra room or a play room or a formal living, a flat backyard, all of those things and looking at pretty homes for sale on line...I needed your post and that article. Thanks for sharing...and just to let you know, when i was at your house i was thinking of what it would be like to have your house and have each child have their own room, etc... so funny... Thanks! :) I needed that and am going to reread that article to always remember it. :) Tina
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