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Monthly Archives: June 2009

Jun 30 2009

Plenty Is a Mindset

by Holly

into the wild - alone

We live in a culture of wants. It’s no secret. Everywhere you look, you see covetable stuff. Shiny stuff. Pretty stuff. Fancy stuff. Cool stuff. I admit, I like stuff; however, I am also overwhelmed by it all.

The first thing I vividly remember wanting–with every pleading fiber of my nine-year-old self–was a pair of Nike sneakers. Ones with a lavender swoosh, like Amy Gardner’s. I also wanted a baseball tee shirt with a silk-screened unicorn on the front and my name in fuzzy letters on the back. And a Cabbage Patch Kid (and another Cabbage Patch Kid). And let’s not forget the Hello Kitty erasers and scratch-and-sniff stickers. I got all of those things, and pretty much everything else I’ve wanted for over the years.

Whoop de doo.

Want is an insatiably hungry beast. It took me a good, long time to realize all that stuff just gets in the way of truly living. My happiness has little to do with designer handbags or $200 jeans or a yoga wardrobe full of Lululemon gear. I am more than the sum of my possessions–and you are, too.

Last weekend I watched Into the Wild, and the message has been haunting me ever since: stuff does not equal happiness. As circumstance would have it, I’ve been a student of this philosophy for the last six months. While I would give anything not to be in this situation, it is perhaps the most valuable lesson I’ve ever learned, distinguishing want vs. need.

“Until you have it all you won’t be free.”
– “Society” by Eddie Vedder

In order to experience that sense of freedom, you have to come to terms with the fact that you already have everything you need. Trust. Dig deep. Look in the way back of your closet. I promise, whatever you’re looking for is there–as long as you’re willing to be creative.

Can you cultivate your own definition of happiness–of “having it all”–with only the resources at your fingertips? Life is short. Time is passing. You can’t afford to wait.

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© 2009 Good Karma Housekeeping. Because less really is more.

Categories: Happiness, Quotations | 5 Comments »

Jun 22 2009

It’s Gonna Take Time . . .

by Holly

suitcases

Suitcases. I’ve been driving around with a dozen suitcases and duffel bags in the back seat and trunk of my car our car for the past week. To anyone who has caught a glimpse inside of the car, we’ve probably looked like vagabonds. But the truth of the matter is, these suitcases and bags were destined for foster care kids. Kids who otherwise would be carrying their posessions from one place to the next in plastic garbage bags. And that breaks my heart.

The collection was to help out a friend of a friend of a friend who is helping Suitcases 4 Kids in its mission to collect 14,000 suitcases for foster kids in Massachusetts over the next year. According to its Statistics page, there are over 510,000 kids in the United States under the age of 23 who are living in foster care. That’s nearly as many people as you’ve got in the entire city of Boston. I hate to think there could possibly be that many displaced kids across the United States. While I’m not at a place in my life where I could reasonably take on a foster child myself, I could certainly root around in my attic and dig out a few unused suitcases. My friend Ehrin did the same, and my boss even bought two duffel bags for me to add to the collection–one with pink handles and another with blue. A thoughtful touch, for sure.

But back to the suitcases bumbling around in my back seat. After a day or two of carting these things around (and playing lots of phone tag with the suitcase sherpherd), I’ll admit–it was tempting to just deposit them in the big Red Cross donation box in the grocery store parking lot and be done with it. Once I’ve committed to giving something away, I’m ready to release it–clearing my clutter while knowing that somebody else will be able to benefit from it.

But the point wasn’t to put these suitcases and duffel bags into just anybody’s hands. They were specifically for the foster care kids. And if I was feeling a little antsy about the donation process taking a little longer than expected, well imagine how those must kids feel.

Tonight, at last, I was able to hand over all of the bags. Still, it will probably be a little while before they make it to the foster kids. Even the best of intentions, however, becomes a process once there are adults involved (myself included). Between busy schedules, social calendars, and unexpected situations, we do our best. Patience seems to slip to the wayside when there’s a to-do list involved. But in order to do good by all those anonymous kids, patience is key. Just doing something to help is what’s most important.

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Live in the Boston area or anywhere near Hartford or New Haven? Have some suitcases you’d like to donate? Let me know!

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© 2009 Good Karma Housekeeping. Because less really is more. (Image from KiddoInfo)

Categories: Formerly Mine, Observations | 2 Comments »

Jun 16 2009

A Bunch of Caramels

by Holly

caramels

It’s inevitable. Get a group of females together and before long the conversation will shift to one (or both) of the following topics: marriage and babies. Even still, after a decade-plus of answering these questions, they make me squirm. It’s exhausting being in the minority. Though I’ve noticed, the older I get, the more often I find that I’m not alone in choosing to sit out these rites of passage. And the more at ease I feel with these decisions.

There’s a line in one of my favorite movies, Good Will Hunting, where Will and Skylar are just about to make plans to go out on a date. Skylar says, “Maybe we could go out for coffee sometime,” and Will’s responds with “Great, or maybe we could go somewhere and just eat a bunch of caramels.” Their simple transaction so perfectly makes my point.

So often we gravitate toward doing things just because it sounds like the right thing to do–or because it’s what’s expected of you and the situation you’re in–not because it’s what we truly want to do. Why is that?

Had I fallen in love with someone else, I very well may have gone the marriage and babies route. Would it have been right for me? I’m inclined to think not. Not everybody’s a coffee drinker, so to speak. But that doesn’t make coffee bad. Or good. Though it sure is nice to have options.

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© 2009 Good Karma Housekeeping. Making the space–mentally and physically–to live happily ever after.

Categories: Observations, Quotations | No Comments »

Jun 13 2009

Send Me On My Way

by Holly

It has been a Craigslistin’ kind of week . . .

I’ve had these two, tiny little guardian angel lapel pins for nearly 20 years. Back in the day, they were all the rage. Okay–maybe not all the rage, but they were fairly popular at this little new age jewelry/gift store in my hometown of Madison, CT, called Down to Earth. So I bought a couple and, sadly, never wore them. Instead, they sat in a little mauve velvet compartment in my jewelry box.

Today, I packed them up and sent them on their way to a woman who works in a nursing home. She has two residents who are getting ready to move out on their own, and thought that having a little guardian angel to make the transition with them would provide some needed comfort.

Guardian angel lapel pins, on their way to do their job . . .

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© 2009 Good Karma Housekeeping. Because less really is more.

Categories: Formerly Mine | 1 Comment »

Plenty Is a Mindset

It’s Gonna Take Time . . .

A Bunch of Caramels

Send Me On My Way

Missed Manners

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