Simplicity

We held a presentation for our church and guess what got featured?  Freedom of Simplicity by none other than Bo Sanchez.  Yes, if that name sounds familiar, it's because I have posted some of his writings here in my blog.  So here I'm gonna share another one, with some of my personal insights for each item in parentheses:

1.  LIVE ON LESS, AND DELIGHT IN THEM MORE

Some take their pleasure dining in classy restaurants, trips to Europe, and owning the latest home theatre-equipment.  I've chosen the simple path:

If I can simply be with my wife, or take a quiet stroll under a canopy of stars, or play with a child, or read a good book in my home, or laugh with friends over a pizza, I consider myself richly blessed.

"Focus on what you have and not on what you don't have."

(I think the quote above is easier said than done.  How our parents raised us bears a lot on our spending habits.  It would be hard to break a spending habit taught to us by our parents either conciously or subconciously.  If we had parents who gave us everything we asked without earning it by getting good grades or doing a household chore, then we are likely to think that we deserve everything we want, just because we can afford it, albeit going into debt.)

2. STOP RUNNING AND WALK INSTEAD

Here's the truth: The person who has covered the greatest distance DOES NOT win, but the one who has most enjoyed the journey does.  Stop running around chasing your own tail!

Get off your hurried pace and learn to breathe.  Replace doing with being.  Learn to say no to invitations, appointments, and commitments, activities and events that will rob you of your focus.
   Learn to say 'YES' to rest, to tranquility, to quietness.

(Remember, if you run the rat race, it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, you will still come out a rat.  If you remember, one of my hobbies is reading the obituaries.  Some of the most interesting out there are not the ones who have a long list of achievements, but the ones where you can feel the grief of the families and friends who lost them.  The ones where their anguish emanates from the very words they have written for and about their departed loved one.)

3.  YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR WEALTH

   I own very few things today.  Because I am more than the brand of my watch, the logo of my shoes, the name of my car.  I believe that if in my soul I deeply respect and value myself, people around me will sense that, and they too, will value and respect me whether I am wearing Armani or not.  You are more than your wealth.

(You often see people with their cars out in the curbs although they have two-car garages.  It is not difficult to guess what the reason for this seemingly peculiar sight.  Either they have more cars than people living in the house, or they have too much stuff that they use their garage as a storage for all the clutter they have accumulated in years)

To be continued....