thoughtful tuesday

"the secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less."
~~socrates

i read this quote on one of my new favorite blogs: mnmlist.com. you can read the whole post here. (now i am by no means a minimalist, but i just love this whole thought. his blog is basically about stuff and how it has come to overwhelm us.)

lately, i have really been thinking about buying less and just using what i have or repurposing things around the house. (don't get me wrong. the thought of buying something still gives me a little thrill and i will still be posting my fabulous friday finds, but i am just trying to find joy and good feelings in other simpler ways.) and not just related to buying less things, but eating out less, watching less tv, wasting less time on the internet, eating less sweets, etc. basically doing less, but training myself to enjoy more.

i was thinking about when we were in mexico this summer and how they would serve our meals. they would bring out these "tiny", in texas terms, entrees and desserts. but do you know we would leave full and content because we really don't need or appreciate as much the "super-sized-portions" that we have come to expect. we would linger over our dinner, relishing and enjoying every bite instead of cramming it down our throats and running to do something else. eating less...but enjoying it more.

i love how the post i mentioned above ended. he said, "when you focus on enjoying less, you focus on full enjoyment. you learn to be content with little...the only limit to your happiness, then, is how much you can learn to enjoy less."

we could all stand to do that...enjoying more with less.