Are you happy with what you have?

One of the things that I am trying hard to work on this year is to be happy with what I have. I can't believe how much harder this is than I thought. I mean, it's easy to say and the concept is simple but society has brought us up differently.

The grass is always greener on the other side ! Or is it? I mean it's all about perspective. The grass might seem greener but can you see the entire lawn? Can you see the hours of work that it takes to keep it green? Can you imagine the amout of money that it takes to keep it green? If it is indeed greener, than maybe it's because of what that person is doing to it to make it greener. Maybe if you put as much time and money into your grass, it could be just as green. Wow ! That was a lot of writing about nothing...lol. But it's really not nothing. Here is my point.

We had the bigger house. A really large house in my opinion. It was beautiful and grande when we saw it. It was like nothing we could afford back in RI. We lived in that house for two years. For two years I continued to buy furniture and curtains and accessories to try to make the house feel like a home and it just didn't. It was just too much room to fill and it just felt too cold. For two years we paid to heat and cool that LARGE house. So the bills were a bit LARGE too...obviously ! Now we find ourselves in a much smaller house. Maybe it was too big of a jump but it does seem to soot us fine. But I find myself wishing for a garage again, for a second bathroom, for a spare room. I find myself missing my big walk in closet and gigantic bathroom. I don't miss cleaning that house though...lol. So knowing what I know now, why do I do this to myself? I do it because I look around me and it's all I see. I see people getting rid of what they have to get something bigger, something better, something more expensive. Houses, cars, tv, game systems, phones, toys...you name it, there is something bigger and better that we strive for. People even change spouses for something they think is better, younger, wealthier only to find out that it just a different set of problems. Why? Why can't we just be happy with what we have? We are in a disposable society. I know that I am not saying anything new. I am not saying anything that you haven't heard before. Why can't we spend more time and energy on the things that matter most, like spending time with your family? Why can't we enjoy the simple things in life like playing board games and playing cards?

I want to stop and enjoy these things. I want to spend more time with my kids while they still want to spend time with me. I want to fingerpaint and fly kites and play catch outside. I want to try to work with what I have first before going out and buying something new. I want to try to settle with what have and take pride in that instead of looking for something more.