Our lifestyles have become almost too hectic to enjoy it! Many who have to travel to work often find themselves caught up in traffic jams both at the beginning of their morning and the end of the day. And all this is endured so that we can provide the best for our families, but what exactly is the best we are trying to attain?
Have any really sat and looked at what is essential for our happiness and well being? Have we got our priorities right or wrong? These are the questions that each of us should be asking within ourselves for do we work to gain the necessities of life or for the luxuries of life?
In our quest to gather 'things' we lose the essential requirement to enjoy our gadgets and luxuries and that is time. We have no time to truly enjoy the TV's that are in each room, we have no time to listen to the CD's we bought for our stereo's, we have no time to wear the expensive clothes we bought...we have simply grown too busy to enjoy life!
Is this the way life was meant to be, as the divorce ratio grows each year and so many of our children turn to gangs or drugs to replace the affection they are missing at home. Where many Mothers are overstressed and overwhelmed at the responsibility to teach and instruct their children on the right paths and to also give comfort and support to their husbands. Where Fathers return home from a world which is cut throat and where their hard work is not appreciated no matter the hours spent at their work place.
Surely God did not mean for our life to be a part of the 'rat race' for that is not living life but merely existing in a world of plastic people who fail to connect with one another even between husbands and wives. How many lonely wives and husbands spend hours on the computer or watching the TV as a replacement for what they truly lack and that is intimacy. How many children come home from school and sit in front of the TV as it takes the place of parental control, the TV in affect has become the new home nanny!
The computer and the TV is no replacement for quality conversation, that we should be enjoying with those we love most, our families. Life was never meant to be 'endured' but to be enjoyed, but we can only enjoy our life when we realise what is truly important to each of us, is it to watch the latest episode of our favourite soap opera's or to have a meaningful conversation with our Spouses and children?
Many also make the mistake of thinking one needs lots of money to enjoy life, when did fresh air cost money or tree's or the lush gardens and deep green lawns of parklands? For a family to truly enjoy life we don’t need expensive gadgets, but we do need imagination and a willingness to change our priorities. We also need to once again look back at our grandparents or even Saints from our Church to learn that life can and should be a joyous experience!
For society is too ready to try and influence all of us to place our eyes on what is the non essentials of life, but that does not mean we need to listen to the seduction of advertisements as they try and persuade us into living above our means. As St. Vincent de Paul warns with these words when it comes to what society honours and dishonours, "Among those who make profession of following the maxims of Christ, simplicity ought to be held in great esteem; for, among the wise of this world there is nothing more contemptible or despicable than this. Yet it is a virtue most worthy of love, because it leads us straight to the kingdom of God, and, at the same time, wins for us the affection of men; since one who is regarded as upright, sincere, and! an enemy to tricks and fraud, is loved by all."
A simple lifestyle does not mean living in poverty; it is simply enjoying and making the best of what we have rather than what we long for. When we follow this maxim then great treasures abound as our lives become less complicated and more liveable, we end up enjoying the company of our families, but it takes ingenuity to keep sacred, the time spent with one another. On cold winter nights plan an indoor picnic, yes! Place a blanket on the living room floor and enjoy a novel picnic made easy with your little ones and your spouse.
Fun does not cost money, humour is also free of charge, hugs do no damage to the recipient and laughter is the best medicine one doesn't have to buy! What can beat the laughter of your children and to know you are the cause of their joy? Or the loving embrace of your Spouse and know how loved you are for being...yourself?
It does not take great effort to live a simple lifestyle, but it does take great heart to live a life of giving the best of yourself to all those around you and most importantly your own family. As Saint Francis de Sales said in regard to simplicity, "Simplicity is nothing but an act of charity pure and simple, which has but one sole end, that of gaining the love of God. Our soul is then truly simple, when we have no aim at all but this, in all we do."
When we have truly placed God at the centre of our lives, it is easy to live a more simplistic and less complicated lifestyle. But if God is on the periphery of our lives then it will lead many to place the wrong emphasis on the wrong things which will lead inevitably to inner unhappiness within yourself and those around you. As once again St. Vincent de Paul reminds us, "simplicity is to make us go straight to God, without regard to human respect or our own interests. It leads us to tell ! things candidly, and just as they exist in our hearts. It leads us to act simply, without admixture of hypocrisy and artifice, and finally, keeps us at a distance from every kind of deceit and double-dealing."
We may live in a Godless society but that does not mean our home life must reflect that which society espouses as 'wise'. We do not need a TV in every room or multiple computers in order to fill the emptiness within ourselves, what we do need is God and there is no replacement for the indwelling Spirit. For it is from the indwelling Spirit that we are made complete and it is also the same Spirit that fills our lives and our hearts with His love, joy and peace. As St. Francis de Sales also said when talking about simplicity, "True simplicity is like that of children, who think, speak, and act candidly and without craftiness. They believe whatever is told them; they have no care or thought for themselves, especially when with their ! parents; they cling to them, without going to seek their own satisfactions and consolations, which they take in good faith, and enjoy' with simplicity, without any curiosity about their causes and effects."
We are in affect living expressions of the Divine to our families and to the outside world, what do people see in your face? A person too busy for anyone or a person in love with life and living it with joyous abundance!
Peace of Christ to you ALL
Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.
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