“Year by year the complexities of this spinning world grow more bewildering and so each year we need all the more to seek peace and comfort in the joyful simplicities.”  Woman’s Home Companion, December 1935

Isn’t that funny?  We think our lives today are so crazy compared to “way back when,” but in 1935, they thought their world had gotten pretty hectic.  Apparently, no matter what age you live in, it is more hectic than the last.  So how do we find peace, and time to stop and smell the roses?

 “Joyful simplicities nourish body and soul by engaging our senses.  They teach us how to live in the present moment.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

As someone who grew up thinking that a wife and mother has a duty to be busy working every minute, learning to live in the present and take time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life has been a process.  It is something I work at every day.  I do better at it some days than others.  Danny is so good at it.  He has a real skill for living in the present.  He can stop whatever he is doing to enjoy a moment with a loved one or to help me or the kids, regardless of what timeline he is on.  Me, I worry about where I’m supposed to be, don’t wanna be late … and I just had an aha moment … I think part of that comes from worrying about displeasing someone.  It is a fine balance, living in the present, and meeting your obligations when you need to be someplace at a scheduled time.

“As we become curators of our own contentment on the Simple Abundance path, one of the great payoffs is that we start to seek peace and comfort in the joyful simplicities.”  SBB

Curators of our own contentment.  Don’t you just love that?  What are you doing to become a curator of your own contentment? What joyful simplicities have you discovered that bring you personal comfort and a sense of well being?  Will you share them with us?

Shalom!