I am living with a word in my soul, a word that won't go away, the word... 'simplify'
There had been something different in the air at the start of the new year. A pounding need for newness, for simplification. That word returned over and over. Other words surfaced alongside it to, beauty, calm, peace.
So the writing prompt, 'What would you buy if you were given $500' sent me into a panic. As I visualised spending that windfall I slipped into dread, buried by that imaginary 'stuff'!
I don't want more 'stuff'! Stuff has been stealing my calm and peace. It's been stealing my time with my kiddies, stealing their peace too! The tidying, picking up, sorting, tripping over, finding, losing, making space and adding cupboards and sheds had my soul crying. Why had it taken me so long to fully realise the need for change?
Crate upon crate of 'stuff' had been packed away, each crate gone another chink of light let in, another ounce of calm added to our family recipe.
And I was surprised, we were missing nothing! The things taken away far less important than the things we were gaining. In fact my kids were joyous, not seeing the 100 things gone but re-focused on the 10 things remaining. I couldn't quite believe it actually. We were happier, calmer, it was liberating, so would I like to spend $500 on stuff...NO!
But I had once stood in a place where the emptiness was enforced and cold. A place where empty space was not a joyful walk with children towards beauty but an emptiness that was loveless. This an empty that no child should ever have to endure.
That place Kalinovka.
Kalinovka....buried in the the remote Ukrainian landscape, a mental institution warehousing the forgotten. Here I had travelled to find a child whose face had tugged my heartstrings onto a plane and across oceans. A face seen on Reece's Rainbow, a face I was fundraising for, a face I couldn't let go of and so I got on a plane...and I found him.
And the emptiness and loneliness I found there sits in stark opposition to our lives of plenty, our lives of love and family, our lives of excess being crated and stored away. So what would I spend that $500 on...I know without even having to think about it....I would buy a tiny piece of hope for Bobby and the children at Kalinovka! New bricks for the small group home that's being built, caregivers wages to get those lost souls out of their cot-prisons. Campaigns to find the children families who can adopt them and bring them home. Because at the end of the day that's all we all need, family, love, security and warmth...not more stuff...never more stuff!
There had been something different in the air at the start of the new year. A pounding need for newness, for simplification. That word returned over and over. Other words surfaced alongside it to, beauty, calm, peace.
So the writing prompt, 'What would you buy if you were given $500' sent me into a panic. As I visualised spending that windfall I slipped into dread, buried by that imaginary 'stuff'!
I don't want more 'stuff'! Stuff has been stealing my calm and peace. It's been stealing my time with my kiddies, stealing their peace too! The tidying, picking up, sorting, tripping over, finding, losing, making space and adding cupboards and sheds had my soul crying. Why had it taken me so long to fully realise the need for change?
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| A previously tidy room after Poppy had decided to move her furniture around! This the utter chaos of too much stuff! |
And I was surprised, we were missing nothing! The things taken away far less important than the things we were gaining. In fact my kids were joyous, not seeing the 100 things gone but re-focused on the 10 things remaining. I couldn't quite believe it actually. We were happier, calmer, it was liberating, so would I like to spend $500 on stuff...NO!
But I had once stood in a place where the emptiness was enforced and cold. A place where empty space was not a joyful walk with children towards beauty but an emptiness that was loveless. This an empty that no child should ever have to endure.
That place Kalinovka.
Kalinovka....buried in the the remote Ukrainian landscape, a mental institution warehousing the forgotten. Here I had travelled to find a child whose face had tugged my heartstrings onto a plane and across oceans. A face seen on Reece's Rainbow, a face I was fundraising for, a face I couldn't let go of and so I got on a plane...and I found him.
And the emptiness and loneliness I found there sits in stark opposition to our lives of plenty, our lives of love and family, our lives of excess being crated and stored away. So what would I spend that $500 on...I know without even having to think about it....I would buy a tiny piece of hope for Bobby and the children at Kalinovka! New bricks for the small group home that's being built, caregivers wages to get those lost souls out of their cot-prisons. Campaigns to find the children families who can adopt them and bring them home. Because at the end of the day that's all we all need, family, love, security and warmth...not more stuff...never more stuff!
Inspired by the writing prompt ' If I gave you $500 today, but you could use it for only one purchase, what would you buy and why?'
To find out more about the children of Kalinovka visit my Forget-Me-Not blog here.
That's great to spend the cash on the less fortunate. Good on you.
ReplyDeleteI think Bobby is so worth your investment.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, yes. $500 could go so far in a place like that. And I agree -- stuff can suck our souls dry.
ReplyDeleteWOW, this post is so powerful. What a beautiful way to spend the money. We have also been trying to get rid of all the 'stuff' we have and it is amazing how much our little house has been holding... stuff that we dont need or use. It just sits, taking up space. I love your idea on how to spend the $500!
ReplyDeletewow! what a great post. what a good thing to spend money on. kelley—the road goes ever ever on
ReplyDeleteThis is such a beautiful and loving post full of spirit. Thanks so much for sharing. :-)
ReplyDeleteAGREED! I just can't stop shopping. Good thing is that I shop for food to help my family and friends. My daughters room looks similar to that. It's chaos!
ReplyDelete-Cinella @ The Mami Blog
http://cjrthemamiblog.blogspot.com
If I had $500 to spend? Hmm easy, for each dollar I have is another day I don't have to work and can continue to be a stay at home Mum. But if I had to spend it, I would be racing down to my garden shop. My edible garden got destroyed in the floods, I would love the money to re-build my vegie patch.
ReplyDeletehttp://iliska-dreams.blogspot.com.au/