Christmas Eve wasn’t a silent night for me but December 3 was. That was the day I chose to keep silent. It wasn’t 100% silence. That wasn’t the goal; but rather to become more conscious of the words I do speak and their impact on others. I wanted to reduce the times that my speech […]
Living Lightly
Susan Vogt on living more simply but abundantlyBrowsing Posts tagged Intangibles
I’ve finished my “news fast” – week without newspapers, e-news, radio*, or TV (well, not no news but only indirect news gained from other’s comments). When I reconnected with the world I learned that I missed the birth of the royal baby, that Edward Snowden was still holed up in the Moscow airport, and that […]
We get 3 daily newspapers (Cincinnati Enquirer, New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal), at least 7 magazines, and I’m an NPR junkie. This doesn’t include countless email messages from causes I support. You’d think this would make me an informed citizen. Lately, it has mostly made me discouraged and depressed about the state […]
I still have plenty of things to give away in our home but I’m feeling more burdened by my “To Do List” than my stuff these days. So this blog is focused on TIME. How we use it and how we can be a slave to it like the proverbial wheel running hamster. I go […]
…and Smugness. Today I selected to give away: 4 pairs of slacks 2 sweaters 8 scarves But what I found that was hard to give away was feeling SMUG. I was feeling quite virtuous about continuing to find clothes to pass on to others when I reflected that since I work at home, I really […]
Something’s are hard to let go of and something’s are a pleasure to give away. First the hard one. A few days ago I had a car accident. It was totally my fault and nobody was hurt except my pride. I made too sharp a right hand turn into a parking lot and two boulders […]
Saving money vs. Saving Time
A few of my pet peeves are: Unnecessary use of bottled water Over packaging Radio interviewees who respond to the host’s “Thank you” with “Thank you” instead of “You’re welcome.” Dragged music at church Singing Happy Birthday to an individual in a large random group of people. (Although this probably sounds petty of me, I […]
Sometimes the best part of giving something away is finding the right person to give it to. My husband and I have been hosting two Korean teenage girls for the summer. They are delightful, polite, and always helpful. They arrived shortly after my watch broke. Wait, there’s a connection. I assumed that my watch simply […]
Some people should take more risks, some less – that would be some of our children. Generally I’m a risk averse person. I’m cautious and long ago decided that if I’m going to die a tragic death, it should be for a cause. Thus, being shot while in a civil rights protest or because I […]
For a variety of reasons, I recently decided to change my email address from a local carrier to Gmail. Mostly it was to simplify my life when I travel. With Gmail I have access to all my archived emails which I used to keep neatly categorized with Outlook. My secondary reason, however, was that I […]
That is – too many people for one person to take care of. Our planet has about 7 billion people – all of them valuable human beings who deserve a decent life. I don’t have to listen to the news for long or simply look around my neighborhood to realize that many people need help. […]
PART 1: Periodically my back gives me trouble. It happened recently when I spent a day preparing the garden for spring planting. This zealous gardener over did it. Not to worry. Usually one trip to my friendly chiropractor fixes me up just fine. Oh oh, time to worry. It didn’t work this time and my […]
I go to lots of meetings. Maybe you do too. One of the things that continues to amaze me is how some people seem to have little concept of how long they talk. At a recent meeting I witnessed co-presenters, who both had valuable things to say, but one talked so long that the other’s […]
I don’t know if I’m madder at our country (think debt ceiling, politics, greed), our Church (think scandals, reneging on Vatican II), or the world (think environmental degradation, abuse of power, wars, poverty). I could go on, but that just makes me madder. So how do I let go of my anger? Lately I’ve been […]
One of the first persons to respond to my blog asked the question, “Are you also giving away non-things – ideas or suggestions for programs or talks? Can you let go of any of these intangibles?” That idea has been haunting me for quite awhile since I am a freelance speaker and writer and my […]
As I continue to look around my home and consider what more to part with, I often feel some pride in cleaning things out or virtue in passing stuff on to those in need. As I dig more deeply into this process, however, I realize that a bigger challenge is to let go of bad […]
I recently took a trip and rented a car. Now I don’t fancy myself a picky person but I found myself a little annoyed when I discovered it didn’t have cruise control and this was a six hour drive. I then realized that I had forgotten my CD’s (to keep me awake) and conditioner for […]
Giving away words in the form of a compliment, greeting card, letter to the editor, saying the Pledge of Allegiance, a prayer, or putting out a political sign can take time and thought. I’ve been trying to be more conscious of words these days – both acknowledging a talent in another and refraining from complaining. […]
The young couple and their 4 month old baby that I mentioned in the post, “Letting Go Of Privacy” has been staying with us for a couple weeks now. You get to know people on a deeper level when they live with you. We have been impressed with their respectfulness and willingness to work and […]
