Here we are again midway through the week. I have been doing some thinking and I know it may be repetitive, but I am going to chat a little about living a good and simple life.
I used to watch several You Tube channels - and have pretty much stopped all but one or two. They are just all so fear and panic driven. They give these titles that reel you in - there is a reason for that! MONEY! The more people that fall for those titles and check in the more money they make. They are just regular folks like you and I. Not experts in any way - yet people think their word is gospel. I don't get it. So, I quit watching. I don't need that negativity.
We have enough garbage in our lives, we sure don't need to go hunting for it. I know, many think I am not aware. They think I simplify things too much. They think I am a Pollyanna of sorts. They think I have my head in the sand. NO! NO!
I just am not going to get all worked up and panic about the situations of the world. It doesn't do a damn bit of good!!!!!!
I will continue to work on my pantry and my home slow and steady as always. I will continue to live the simple life. I will continue to pray. I will continue to live. I just will NOT panic and live in fear.
God is in control and I give it all to Him. I do my part, and then turn the rest over to God.
We have always had abundance and little. Feast and famine. That is the way of life. We have war and peace. We have good leaders and bad. We recessions, depressions, high prices, and good times. There is life and death (death is part of life). Health and disease. Hope and despair.
It always gets better. Sure, it sucks going through the bad times - but it happens to every generation. Hopefully we all learn from those bad times.
I have chosen to live simply, so as not to be too affected by the LACK OF....! No big bling, no fancy house, no fancy lifestyle. Just honest, humble and simple living.
I do not judge anyone for what they have or don't have. BUT that being said, I will not feel too sorry for those living way over their means when things go down the tube.
Just because yesterday was bountiful and full, doesn't mean tomorrow will be. We all need to plan and prepare. It can all go to s**t in a second.
Same old advice - pay off what you can as soon as you can. Don't live over your means. Down size if at all possible. Live simply. No unnecessary buying/spending. Adjust your habits. Learn new ways.
And GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY!!!!!!!!
Yep, we usually get in our own way and that throws a wrench into things.
Life is good - it really is. Do not panic. Stay calm. Most of all, be prayerful!
Know just how blessed you truly are.
Well said!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteBTW-My favorite Youtube channel is Mornings with Granny. All common sense there.
DeleteThank you!
DeleteI agree wholeheartedly. I will say I watch You-Tube but only the homestead/frugal/animal husbandry type channels. Anything that pertains to my lifestyle or my aspirations. I find helpful hints or demos.
ReplyDeleteI guess I should state - I stopped all the prepper channels! I have a gal I listen to, that I just like her family and her simple life and I have a channel I like about abandoned homes in Europe. Just had to stop all the prepper channels!!!!!!
DeleteI do like a cooking show now and then.
Amen!! Totally agree! They are looking for views and $. I’m gonna keep on living, being mindful, and trusting in God.
ReplyDeleteThat is what we all need to do - that is the answer!
DeleteI agree and thank you for repeating something that needs to be heard. As I tell friends who spend all day watching news programs and are up in arms all the time, there is no point being upset about something if you aren't going to take that energy and do something to fix the situation. And if you can't fix it, stop worrying, start praying and pay attention to how you live your own life. A world in which many people do little things every single day to be the light is a world that will improve slowly but surely. Lynn Ewing
ReplyDeleteLynn I know those people too. Most things, there is not a thing we can do about them - so work on what we can.
DeleteI love it - if we each do a little to brighten a day for ourselves and for someone else it makes for a beautiful day!
As a student of history, I am very much aware that there has always been strife, disease, famine, war, pestilence, and evil in the world. While I can't control any of it, I CAN control my reaction to it. I concentrate on my own life and making our home a sanctuary from the world's problems. Keeping things simple, keeping out the clutter (both physical and mental/emotional), a sense of gratitude for what we do have (and, yes, even for the trials that make us stronger), and having a plan are key to having a good life.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, yes, and yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DeleteYou got it right. Taking care of our little corner is so important. If more people did that instead of complaining and worrying - e would all be better off!
I keep thinking about how the interest rate was 19% when we bought our first home and that people are whining about a possible bump up to 3.5%. (That home was 50% of our take-home pay!). Today's rate the payment would be $257 which is $2 higher than our monthly apartment rent back then. The 80s were not kind to young newlyweds when it comes to economics.
ReplyDeleteGreat post today! There is so much bad 'out there' and it's easy to go down that grief trail rather than counting our Blessings.
Blessed indeed!
I know right? No, things were not kind back them. I have ridden the crazy train of economics up and down over the years. So many times in OUR lifetimes it has been bad - and those times probably didn't compare to what our parents or grandparents went through.
DeleteWe can get through it all - it just takes determination.
Thank you, Cheryl.
ReplyDeleteWelcome my friend!
DeleteEcclesiastes 3:1-8 comes to mind. To everything there is a season and a time for everything.
ReplyDeleteAmen. So very true.
DeleteThis is so true that I could write an essay on it! But, I won't!!!! There's a song we sing at church that I sing alot these days around the house. The words go "Find us ready Lord, not standing still, Find us working and loving, and doing your will.....". Much healthier than the daily "WE'RE GONNA DIE!!!!!" broadcast. I have two friends that I love dearly that just won't step away from the news. They're forever lamenting the state of the world. Honestly, it's a bit tricky to navigate those phone calls at times. I'd rather talk about cleaning a toilet than the latest scandal/politics/celebrity. Ugh!!!
ReplyDeleteAlso, depending on what someone is personally doing, percepton is drastically different. Elle mentioned the 80s, for instance. For my circle of friends, that was the "Let the good times roll" decade. Our parents easily paid for us to go to college with a new car, I didn't have to work, etc. I had use of their credit cards and we had a ball! My parents bought their dream home, including a pool, at 11% interest. No complaints. We bought our first home in 1995 and paid extra!!! to lock in a 9 3/4% rate, which makes me gasp now!! The 90s were hard for us. I was working FT and hubs was working 2 jobs. And someone mentioned a recession in 2008. Not for us. Life was great. I remember asking my older quilting friends about the Depression some years ago and if they had a hard time. Apparently, with their farms they barely noticed. They raised and grew their own food anyway. Yet, look at the old pictures of the food lines! It IS pretty funny to imagine someone whining about a 3.5% interest rate though, isn't it?!
I miss our older quilters and the wisdom they brought from the perspective of having lived for 90+ years!
I'm off to dust and clean bathrooms. Some things never change lol lol!!!
Love the song! Indeed that is what we should be singing.
DeleteI remember the gas lines in the 70's and actual rationing gas. I also remember the stock market bust in 80's. Everyone was screaming LOSS - we just rode it out and left things alone and did quite well after the recovery.
Yes, perception is a huge part. We all have different experiences and different outcomes. Yes, interest rates are so low now - and yet, people are complaining. If they had only experienced it years ago (of course prices were cheaper).
I'd much rather clean a bathroom than listen to panic mongers!
It is so true what you say about vloggers and podcasts. You start to follow them and then you realize that they are out for clicks and money and often don't have your values, or are trying to get you to buy something. We don't need more scare tactics in this world. We need common sense. That is what you are common sense. Well you are not common that is for sure. You are unique sense. Let's embroider that on a pillow!
ReplyDeleteThey reel you in and then you see what is really going on.
DeleteI love that!!!!!! Thank you!
I guess common sense does not grow in every garden!
Loved this today, Cheryl---I am 75 , hubby is 79,and we've seen a lot of ups and downs. We were unaware of so much in the early years because we were too busy working, raising a family, and just living! When we bought our first house in 1970, we couldn't even afford a rake :) But we were happy and thrilled to be in our first home with our newborn baby. Life is what you make it! I have always said---bloom where you are planted!
ReplyDeleteI, too, have given up on the naysayer prepper blogs--too scary and depressing. At my age, I will never grind my own wheat for instance.
Terri over at Blue House Journal recently had a great post on shopping with only $20 or less at Dollar general, and how many meals she could make with that. She knows how to stretch a dollar---and food!
Love your columns---sending hugs... Jane
Thank you Jane.
DeleteI remember my first house was $14,900 and was a 3 bed little ranch in a neighborhood. Can you imagine. I wish I still owned that property.
It is all about what you make it. Nobody is going to hand us the pot of gold - we have to hunt for it ourselves.
You were proof of that - happy is more than money and stuff. experience sure has given many of us a very different perspective.
Good to hear someone sensible Cheryl.
ReplyDeleteYou are doing well and if everyone was doing half as well.... it would be a better world xx Sylvia
Thanks Sylvia. More common sense is definitely needed in this world.
Delete"Get out of your own way!" Yes! Simple is much better than convoluted and complicated. I agree with Miss Mona regarding the Scripture in Ecclesiastes. Terri's post on shopping on a tight budget at a smaller store was very good. Some folks don't have transportation and very little money. When we lived out at Lizton, we had to drive to Danville or Brownsburg to shop. Now we have lots of options within five miles of our home. At the price of gas, I'm grateful for that!
ReplyDeletePouring down rain...too bad we can't have rain like that in August when the gardens need it.
We can be our own worst enemy for sure!
DeleteYes, there are ways to stretch a budget and a dollar. They may not be the healthiest choices - but sometimes we just need to survive.
Thank goodness the weather wasn't any worst. My area lucked out.
I hold us older people in such high regard. We have alot of common sense and are not traumatized by every little blip. Life has taught us to be self-reliant and independent thinkers. I truly worrynwhen all us 'seasoned/experienced' citizens are gone. We have very few WW2 Veterans still around who can remember the lessons of war.
ReplyDeleteI love GOOGLE and it has probably raised my IQ since I am constantly looking up information (much like I used to do with the family set of Encyclopedias.) I participate very little in social media--no FB, Twitter or YouTube. The NYC Subway shooter was captured today and it was reported he had over 100 hate-filled rants on YouTube. Why was that not reported and taken down?? Hate breeds hate - See something/Say something is good advice.
You always make us think and remind us of good times and good values. Thanks for letting me vent.
Vent away! Another good lesson - see something - say something!!!! Thanks for that reminder as well.
DeleteAnger, hate, no/low morals, self-importance and evil seem to be common today. Common sense lacking for sure.
I totally agree with you about social media. They will delete a post in a heartbeat if it doesn't agree with their agenda - but leave the hate filled stuff. Kind of tells me what the agenda is!!
Thank you!
Not repetitive at all. I enjoyed this post. I read every word and I agree with every word. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. I don't want to bore anyone.
DeleteSO right Cheryl. Like you I have quit watching youtube and other naysayers. Also prefer to concentrate on my home and what is in it. I live alone now but still do for others. It just makes me feel good. I am trying to use up what I have and not buy except for food. I usually only buy when on sale and try to be creative in what I make. Yesterday was banana bread and blueberry muffins all from things I had put in the freezer. Just so very satisfying to create things yourself and they taste so much better.
ReplyDeleteYour post was not repetitive, just a reminder. And we all need that through these times. Tomorrow will always be better. History repeats itself and we have been through this all before. The 70's and 80's were no picnic but we survived them. We will survive. Thank you for your positive outlook. Love it!!
Good for you. Using what we have and getting by just fine. That is a good life.
DeleteI think we all need reminders too - I do - just don't want to bore folks. History definitely repeats over and over - we can't get away from the bad (sadly). We can survive.
Thank you!
You have the best advice. It's definitely better to live simply and not be beholden to anyone. I've also had to turn OFF some of the YouTube channels about preparedness. I've noticed it's the same doom and gloom over and over.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I love my simple life - and like you said "not beholden" to anyone. May not be for everyone - but many of us do love it.
DeleteI mean, they must think we have no clue - they tell me what I already know. If I want news - I will watch news - not Joe Blow in Somewhere, USA. They tell us what we know - only they sell panic and doom in the mix.
I needed to read this! I feel like so many youtube videos are filled with fear-mongering these days. Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteI started YouTube during the pandemic and find I'm watching less channels every day. Why do some think scaring people especially those who can't afford to stockpile for the end of times a great idea.
ReplyDelete