October 27th - But I Want It

Friday, October 27, 2017

We all know that feeling.

That green monster inside that all of a sudden

escapes from her locked cage and screams

"But I want it!"

Not unlike my toddlers when they want something they can't have.

Maurice Sendak said

"There must be more to life than having everything."

Sarah says that there is, but your material girl doesn't know that.

Start Quote

About this time of the year the shopper from hell reappears,

and she's hungry.

Be careful, she can undermine every bit of progress

you've made on this path...

Even if you're experiencing "less is more" contentment,

the world is putting on the Ritz and it's hard not to be

dazzled by all that's displayed...

Attempts at deprivation or reason...are fruitless.

But there is a savvy way to quiet the wants.

Don't deny them.

Indulge them.

Revel in your wants.
Exult in extravagance.

Surrender to them.

Let yourself go.

Don't worry. I've not lost my senses, but found them.

You can as well, and you won't have to spend a cent.

Here's how: collect those mail-order catalogs each day, but don't quickly flip through them. Wait until you can enjoy shopping slowly. Circle in red everything that captures your material girl's fancy. Don't let price influence you...

Go on a shopping spree on paper.

Visualize wearing that elegant cashmere blazer, sitting down in that gorgeous chair, putting on that gold necklace, entertaining with those beautiful dishes.

Mentally claim them as your own.

Tell yourself "I can have that."...

Then after the holidays are over, peruse your catalogs again.

See if the wants are still there. Maybe you were given a gift that satisfied the yearning. Maybe your original favorite has gone on sale.

But don't be surprised if you're no longer interested.

Why?

Because you satisfied the material girl.

You fed her wants with attention.

You didn't ignore, dismiss, or deprive her.

You told her she cold have anything she wanted.

But all she really wants is to hear you give her permission...

We quiet out wants when we acknowledge them...

Honor your desires by winnowing them out,

so that all that remain are authentic.

End Quote

I think our material girl comes in many different forms.

I think one is the pinterest girl, or the perfect photo girl, etc etc.

It's hard to admit, but my monster came out today.

It said "I wish that our family picture had turned out a little better."

It's hard to admit, and it's hard to not shove her back down into her cage and tell her to keep her mouth shut and be grateful that your friend was there to take your picture.

But I'm going to try Sarah's advice, because gosh darn it keeping the material girl locked away does not work. Keeping her locked away means I go on shopping sprees and spend too much money and am still not satisfied.

Keeping her locked away just sucks.

Okay photo girl...you can want a better picture.

It's okay.

Maybe if I stop treating her like a monster she'll stop acting like one.

Maybe if I start treating her as a part of me, we'll be able to get along better.

What do you know, I already feel better just by acknowledging that's it's okay that I want the picture to look better.

Crazy.

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Gratitude Journal

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1) I thought I was coming out of my depression wave, and it's only now that I'm seeing that I'm not. But that's okay, because the wave can't last forever.

2) My friend. So my kids demanded that their friend come over, and so she dropped everything and came and spent the afternoon with us. She helped me do my hair and saved me from some terrible mistakes, and totally helped keep my kids from driving me nuts. She's wonderful, and I'm grateful she's come into my life.

3) Costumes. The kids absolutely loved them. All night Jacob was shouting "I'm Avatar Aang!" And I had to keep reminding Chase that he was a warrior, so he could fight off the kids in the scary costumes. And Riley just clung to Nana...