Thoughts on Yoga
Simplicity is the NEW Luxury
2008-12-07
Dear Friends:
Welcome to the Holidays Again! In the midst of all the activity, can you find the time to enjoy the Luxury of Simplicity in abundance?
Many people are feeling financially pinched right now, and are looking for ways to conserve cash. You don't need to spend a lot to feel the Luxury of Simplicity. It starts with taking time to look within yourself and listen to the advice of your heart. Determine what is really needed now for you to feel connected, fully nourished, and vibrantly alive.
When your mind is quiet and your heart open, there are few material desires. What IS wanted are deep experiences--of love, inner peace, harmony with others, health, and a spiritual perspective the events we witness in the world.
Lately I am hearing more people talking about how they survived the Great Depression. My parents' generation were children at that time. I have heard many family stories about a level of deprivation that is hard for me to imagine--about being hungry, about going without new clothing or shoes, about barely having enough of anything, about living on the edge. Those who survived this time carry deep wounds that have never gone away.
There are also a lot of stories about how people kept their spirits up--spending time together talking, playing, reading, working. How people made things, grew things, and fixed things. How people looked out for each other and took care of their neighbors as best they could. Along with the painful memories, I think I can detect some nostalgia in them for this aspect of the past that now has been lost.
Despite the fear some people have expressed that we will experience another Great Depression, I am certain we will never return to the level of deprivation experienced by the generation who lived through the 1930's.
I can't imagine a world where there isn't enough stuff because we have been drowning in too much stuff for a long time now. At the same time, there are too many people on the planet and they all want an abundant life. More and more people around the world are gaining access to wealth and property. Those who don't have access are aware that they don't have it.
There is no going back to a "simpler time." We are at a crucial point in our collective cultural/spiritual evolution. We don't have to experience the nightmare of a Great Depression to re-align our values. We can now choose consciously how to invest our time, money and energy on things that cannot be seen, but that make life worth living.
I earnestly pray that all people will soon start to look within themselves and determine how much is enough for them. To stop struggling for more and instead begin to establish true global abundance through peace and cooperation.
In Love and Gratitude,
Ruth Anne