Way back Christmas 1998, my children Valerie and Michael gave me Sarah Ban Breathnach's Simple Abundance, A Daybook of Comfort and Joy. I must confess I didn't make it beyond the March chapter (the bookmark still sadly wedged in place). At the time, Bob and I were a part of the sandwich generation as we struggled to look after his ailing parents long distance. One would think, with the stress and ongoing distraction, that I would have embraced what Simple Abundance had to offer. Well, I discovered that it doesn't work that way. To experience it, one has to be present; I was obviously "somewhere" else.
Now that I am exploring my authentic self once again, I reclaimed this fascinating book. I am trying to adapt as much of the joyful simplicities as I can cram in a day: a cup of hot ginger tea, enjoying a bite of dark chocolate and letting it just melt in my mouth, curling up to read a book, going for a stroll, sitting out just watching nature that surrounds me, or watching a child play... The trick is not in the "doing" but in the "being", I learned. It is this self nurture- without hesitation or guilt or fear that lifts my spirit and "stay connected".
Perhaps some of you have been enjoying simple abundances all along. If not, why not?
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