Hello, dear one!
Be honest. Have you envied others for purchasing a fancier car or a dream home? I sure have, but now, my lessons have taught me that less is more for my wealth.
To celebrate my birthday, my dear friend invited me to her home and surprised me with this gorgeous and mouth-watering strawberry cheesecake that she baked for me!
As we drank tea and tasted the cake, I was in awe appreciating the sunset hugging the rolling hills through her panoramic kitchen windows:
“You’re so lucky,” I claimed, “I’ll die to have a house like this.”
She quickly shocked me, “I wish I were still living in my old house.”
I remember when she and her husband first saw this property, it was the dream of a lifetime, the generous living spaces, the precious acre of the land, the magnificent view, and the sought-after pristine location.
If only I could have this kind of money, oh, was I drooling and envious of her good fortune? Darn, some women are freer because they could afford it!
However, this is her stated reality.
With a large and older property like this, it demands the constant and considerable cost of maintenance and repairs.
Her regular gardeners are not able to keep up the weed’s fierce growth in both spring and summer. When fall arrives, the golden leaves are romantic but endless. Even in winter, my friend is working in her yard when it’s not raining.
For eight years since the purchase, they have invested heavily in upgrading the property. She now is reflecting:
Do I own my house, or does my house own me?
Aside from the extra financial responsibility, the time needed to upkeep this piece of real estate has quietly consumed her irreversible life.
There is no right or wrong for a decision like this. I admire her ability to take on this property; it’s an unforgettable life experience in a season.
It would be a lie if I didn’t want to stretch myself for an ideal dream home. But I always pondered on Maya Angelo’s freedom statement:
“You only are FREE when you realize you belong to no place…”
I asked myself many times: Within my capacity, what would be more important to me, freedom to a simpler life, or pursuing a dream home which would demand me to work more and longer hours to support it?
Each time my answer leaned toward the sweet and guilty word of “EASE.”
Raised in this 3D material world, I was brainwashed to “be someone” and to “do something” to live a purposeful or so-called successful life.
What if ease is my purpose? What if having more personal time is my success? What if cruising life downstream with no attachment to material stuff is my wealth?
In the end, I’ve chosen to stay in my modestly small home, glorifying it with each upgrade detail that makes my heart sing.
Best of all, with low overhead living costs, I was able to upgrade myself from a full-time job to an every other weekend job a few years ago.
Little did I expect my choice was preparing me for a significant life experience later? When my corporation imposed mandates, I exited my job and lived on my terms. Freedom to my soul is priceless.
Everyone has his or her unique wealth journey. Less is more has been mine.
With less material obligation, I’ve become wealthier with my time and my relationship with my loved ones. I even freed myself to slowly digest pieces like this one by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
“We’re not to do, but let do;
not to work, but to be worked on.”
With less stuff cluttering my physical and spiritual spaces, I have abandoned the concept of “being someone or doing something,” as being myself is good enough.
As a student of the Bible, I make a goal to live a quiet life, minding my own business and working with my hands (Thessalonians 4:11).
With more time to live life my way, my work now is to allow Spirit to guide me to unfold the next experience.
Wherever you’re today, I wish you a life of EASE, cruising down the stream.