It occurs to me, as I sit here savoring the smell of a freshly brewed cup of Americano and pondering the complexity of a slice of toasted Dave's Killer Bread, with just a smidge of peanut butter, that the simple things in life are often the most profound.
I live modestly by choice and by circumstance. I drive an old van, wear hand me downs from my daughter or thrifty buys from the Goodwill. I put out barrels to gather the rain water in the soggy Oregon winter months to water my houseplants and potted plants during the summer. I wash out plastic bags and foil, save rubber bands from the morning paper and carry cloth bags to the market. Simple, really.
I worry about the economy like everyone else. Monthly bills on the rise, groceries, repair bills, insurance. The news from Haiti puts things in perspective but at the end of the day those bills must still be paid. Then something unexpected happens - a piece of toast. That first crunchy bite and each one after that fills my senses and all seems right with the world.
Sure the bills are still waiting to be paid. The crisis in Haiti is devastating and a painful reminder of how precious and precarious life can be. But in the end, it comes down to something simple. A taste, a memory, a smile, a smell, a hug, a tear or even a slice of Dave's Killer Bread. A moment of gratitude and simple pleasure.
1 comment:
I admire you for living simply by choice. We are trying to simplify and it's discouraging how difficult it seems to part with the accumulation of stuff over the years. I'm talking about stuff we don't need and haven't used since the dark ages. We are trying to make our lives so we can spend half of our time up in your area and Washington and the other half down here in our Southern Utah, so we can spend our retirement more equally with our seventeen grandchildren.
Nice blog!
Edna
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