Tuesday, January 6, 2015

simple abundance~





on my birthday 18 years ago my friend cin gave me the book
SIMPLE ABUNDANCE  ~ a daybook of comfort and joy
by: sarah ban breathnach





it's a daily guide to find your way back to peace.
it covers so many things (everything from soul searching to cleaning out your closets),
  and i've read and reread it every
few years.

you can start anywhere and trust me- if you see this book at
a yard sale or library sale you should definitely pick it up and read it.

this is some of today's wisdom~

*the revelation that we have everything we need in life to 
make us happy but simply lack the conscious awareness to appreciate it
can be as refreshing as lemonade on a hot afternoon. Or it can be as
startling as cold water being thrown in our face. How many of us
go through our days parched and empty, thirsting for happiness when
we're really standing knee-deep in the river of abundance? Yet make
no mistake about it. The Universe will get our attention one way
or another-with a sip or a splash. Let's choose today to quench our thirst for
"the good life" we think others lead by acknowledging the good that
already exists in our own lives. We can then offer the universe the gift of our
grateful hearts.


the gift of a grateful heart. i love that line.

almost every year these first two weeks of january are tough for me.
i don't know what it is- but i'm often in a funk- wandering around
wondering what to do with myself... not really feeling like
tackling the job of putting away all the Christmas stuff,
and that fake snow and those fresh evergreen branches i 
so gaily flung all over at the beginning of december? they're just
plain annoying now. dusty and not so very attractive.

as i've gotten older i recognize that this funk will pass- it's just a bit of
post holiday melancholy and i just need to pick myself up by the boot straps
and start living with my usual grateful heart.


the words that cindy wrote on this page 18 years ago are just as
sweet today as they were then... and this book? i treasure it.
it's like a big glass of cold water-thrown in my face and reminding me
of all the richness of my life.




i slipped this card from my sweetie in the book that year too-1997,
and every few years when i start rereading simple abundance,
i open the envelope, take the card out and
reread it too.
: )

do you save cards like me?
i like to think i will take them to the nursing home with me and
clutch them in my wrinkled old hands and smile,
 offering up thanks for a life of simple abundance.


bundle up out there---- brrrrrrrrrrrr




xox, beth


2 comments:

  1. Such a great reminder. I haven't read that book but I've seen it a gazillion times on my mom's bookshelf - I'll have to grab it next time I'm there. Also - funny to see how her handwriting has changed over the years!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Keely- you should totally borrow the book and read it with me this year! It's a-mazing and still absolutely relevant! xox

    ReplyDelete

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