We Live in Excess

I have to admit. I over-post on Facebook because for some reason I think people really care. I like to 'share' things that some will read and others will scroll passed. I post thoughts that often should probably be placed in a journal instead of on social media. And I post recipes thinking that one day I will really look back and make whatever yummy goodness it was. I get it! I realize some of you care and others do not. And I figure if you don't like the way I use FB, delete me. Haha!

I use Pinterest as an online filing cabinet of ideas that I swear I will one day make, and sometimes I really do. I enjoy pinning as a type of window shopping. And I admit, I waste at least an hour per week doing this. Oh well. Sue me!!! (Wink)

But when I read this article on Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lyz-lenz/how-to-raise-a-kid-who-isnt-whiny-and-annoying_b_3248085.html, I couldn't help but love the words, "Pinterest Stress" and "First World Problems." It took me back to a conversation I had a few years ago with my husband when I was acting like a spoiled 'first world' brat. I was frustrated because we were almost 30 and living like a newlywed 20 year-old couple (I got married older, well older according to Utah standards). I broke down about how we were going nowhere, we were still renting a 2 bedroom place, and 'everything' we had was used. And I must say, as the youngest of 5 kids, hand-me-downs got old. In my dream world though, two almost 30 year-old college graduates would be in their careers, have bought a home, and not be in debt. This was a moment of great ungratefulness. And all my husband came back with was a resounding, "Honey, we live in excess!" Oh I was boiling. Excess, my butt??? What excess???

Oh how I learned. Since this time, I have often had the thought repeat itself, "We do live in excess!" What a humbling lesson. Often times we really do fret about our "First World Problems" when the reality is, "We live in excess!" What a blessing! So when I want to complain or compare about how so-and-so has this or so-and-so does that, I remind myself that I am not them, and that we have enough, not only enough....we have excess!

I have learned to appreciate second hand stores, hand-me-downs, and free toys and furniture. (Shoot that means I get to paint and mess with it without the stress of ruining it. Can't ruin something that was free, right?) I take pride in bargains and usually brag about the good deals I get. But this doesn't mean that I don't love new things and being pampered. I love those things. I dream of them. But I have learned to appreciate them more because they are the reminder that we live in excess.