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Candy Cane Green Tea

Simplicity is under rated. 

We all have guilty pleasures, but what about simple pleasures.  Simple pleasures are what keep me moving forward.  Watching the rain fall from a window, then walking in it.  A French pressed cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Knowing that my family will hug me tightly every time they see me.  The smell of fresh baked goods.   Walking through a new city and discovering an independent bookstore.  A kiss on the forehead from the wonderful man in my life.  Snuggling up by a fire place in the dead of winter.  Giving a gift you know the person receiving will love.  A good book and an entire day with nothing to do.  A long bike ride somewhere new.   A picnic in the park with a cool breeze.  Simple pleasures. 

People always have a list of things they want that do not and will not sustain their soul.  Sure, we all want things.  “Gadgets and gizmos a plenty,” as Ariel sings, are what people collect.  Obviously the answer to global poverty cannot be boiled down to a simple equation of the rich feeding the poor, not to mention the countless issues it brings up involving degrading those who are “poor” according to the worlds standards. 

I have found myself wishing I could be both rich and poor.  I hate the responsibility money brings and having to give it to the right people and support every cause just because people know you have a job.  I am SO quick to judge what other people spend their money on, but I do not know the intricacies of their lives and why something is important to them.  Who am I to judge in these circumstances?  Is it ever black and white what we should do and who or what we should give to?  Is it wrong to do selfish things with our money?  I find myself feeling guilty for buying something for myself.  Where is the line?  Would being poor solve these Problems?  I have discovered first hand that it only presents a whole new string of problems.  Where is rent going to come from?  How much is too much to ask for?  What is ok to accept?  Can you and should you move forward on the basis of faith alone on something that will cost you money that you do not currently have?  I’ve asked all these questions and more.

I always said the reason I wanted a full time position was to pay my own bills, buy my friends a drink, and be able to save for the future.  What I found when I got this job is something very different.  I want stuff.  I want all those other things too, but I’ve wanted to be able to buy new pajamas for so long.  Do I need them? Not really.  I have a pile of t-shirts and shorts that are perfectly fine for sleeping in.  Does everyone experience guilt when they purchase something selfishly?  I know for a fact that they do not.  Most people I know are selfish through and through.    I never thought this was true.  I guess removing denial is the first step to beating it.  The only purchasing I have control over my own.  I need to figure out where I stand on all this.

I want to live a simple life.  I want to walk in the rain, have a dog walking next to me, drink coffee, eat soup, drive reasonable cars, have a beautiful family, and love God with my entire heart.  Why isn’t the prospect of that enough?  Why do I feel like I need to impress people with things?

And to think… all this came from a cup of Candy Cane Green Tea and how I started thinking about what a simple pleasure it was.

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