We all go through things that make us sad but it is up to us what to do when we come out on the other side of whatever happened. Some of us go through terrible things but then comes a time when we are farther away in time from what caused us the sadness and if we have given ourselves adequate time that we need to recover or grieve there should be a turning point. We either pick ourselves up or remain depressed and what we do can affect those that love us by the state of mind which we live. If our sadness is due to the loss of a loved one we will always miss them and so we learn to live another way while we remain here on this earth.
A man that lives in our area grows camellias. He enjoyed growing camellias as a hobby but after his wife died he started looking to expand his garden and as a form of therapy. He purchased 5 acres of land with pine trees and in just three years he had planted over a thousand camellia bushes on that land between the rows of pine trees. He still had many bushes in pots and many different varieties and some of the varieties he grafted himself. He will go out at 7:30 in the morning and work until 4:00 or 5:00 and not even notice the time that has passed. He has marked his garden with brick columns and a iron arch and calls it amazing grace gardens.
We can turn things around when we are sad by being in control of what we do. The man above had the money to expand his camellias but what if we don't have money, what if we feel there is not enough money to do much of anything?
Please listen carefully, turn off the background noise in your house because this could make you a different person. We are in control of ourselves and right where we are, the work we do in our home, the budget we set, the decisions we make when we go to the grocery store can empower us when we take control.
We can create that special place that we want right where we are by being patient and start with what we have. Repurpose, rearrange, remove, repair and reinvent our life.
If we need to move because our place is too large and we have the means but we are stuck because we just don't know where to start then ask for help because if we do not do this the situation could possibly get worse. After we have corrected the situation and moved passed the problem we can truly start to live within our means and make that smaller place what we want it to be.
There is not enough hours in the day for me to get all the things done right here where I am. My little spot on this earth has enough work for me to do until my parting. Right now I could go out in my backyard and spend the entire day, the entire week, the entire month digging up and transplanting all the volunteer flowers that have been spread by the birds and the wind. It is not possible for me to finish the weeding as the weeds continue to sprout. Just that alone would keep me busy if only I put on my gloves and grab my garden stool and go out. I don't see this as a dread because I am happy with my home and this is something else to keep me interested.
No matter how simple or large our home is, there is always something to do. Who has time to go out shopping and spend? We feel that shopping should be for our "needed" items but many people shop for avoidance of real responsibilities. Shopping has become a social thing to do and it is one of the causes of credit card debt that could be completely avoided.
Staying home and putting our money into our garden to produce food and repairs to keep up our home, small hobbies that produce items for our house has helped us to find our way out of debt. When we lived another way we spent entirely too much money. Going places, shopping, eating out was causing us debt as well as clutter. We changed our way and now we live with better purpose. Photo above we are teaching our Grandson how to make his own pizzas.
We reduced our grocery bill by simply not buying junk food. We have not spent money on a soda in years now. We drink water and my husband has a small amount of coffee in the morning. These are Danver Carrots I just picked in the garden. They are short fat carrots with a wonderful flavor.
Please don't live in a house that is full of clutter and making you sick. Open your windows and air it out regularly and start somewhere, anywhere and clean it out. My daughter in law called me the other day and asked me to go to an estate sale with her. She has a small business and there were a few things she wanted from this sale for her business but she was afraid it would be sold if we could not get in early enough and both look for the items. So we got there very early and were almost front in line.
I was shocked at what was inside. We had been warned that that it was very crowded inside and little space to walk. These people had lived their life collecting things. What a sad life to spend their money on such things. There were dolls and baseball memorbilia, dishes, figurines of all kinds, just about any kind of collectables and there was very little room to walk. I guess trying to make themselves happy in some way so they bought and bought and bought until they were just too full.
I found out this was not an estate sale, it was a downsizing sale. They just did not have anymore room. They had a beautiful home, it was overlooking a small pond and azaleas around their property. As we were waiting for the sale to begin I set on the steps of their front porch watching the sun come up over that pond I thought what a wonderful place to live and enjoy life but as I got inside I felt sad for these people. All they needed was right there. All that land they had and there was no garden to be seen.
Another building in the back full of more items they had collected. The money they had paid for these things could have been saved for the care they needed probably now.
It is sad to see people living like this not understanding that we have just this one chance while we are here and there is much good without all these artificial possessions. If clutter is building to where you cannot clean your house then it is time to do something about it because a cluttered home can make you sick.
If you only knew when we simply change our attitude about the things that need to be done we can turn a mundane chore into something pleasant. We have the ability to turn a "place" into a "home" that gives us happiness and can bring joy to those around us as well. Even if we live alone such as the man growing the camellias, we can bring life around us as he calls the camellias his Grandchildren and finds happiness each day.
I will go, today we are transplanting two peach trees that were unhappy where they were residing. Much to do because spring is near.
Grandma Donna
