In his essay ‘The Soul of Man under Socialism’, Oscar Wilde wrote the following:
"Ordinary riches can be stolen; real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you."
Televisions, laptops, jewellery, mobile phones, iPods, in fact anything a consumer can acquire for money, can all be stolen. Some things – the most precious things – cannot.
I have my own riches that nobody can steal…
- Snuggling up under a warm blanket on the sofa with a good book on a winter’s evening
- Sitting quietly with my needlework, knitting or crochet feeling contented with life
- Watching the waves hit the shore as the sun sets over the sea
- Eating fresh strawberries
- Writing
- Star gazing
- Laughing so much that it hurts
- Spending hours at the library just browsing the books
- The peace and quiet of a forest
- Playing cards and board games (but NOT Monopoly)
- Knowing that I have my mother's love and respect
- Picking flowers from the garden or countryside to brighten up the house
- Binging on pancakes or waffles with a friend
- The smell of grass after a rainfall
- Watching a log fire burn
- Fishing in a quiet lake in the woods
- Giving my kids a hug
- Feeling the change in the air when spring finally arrives
- Watching the wildlife in my garden
- Talking to my dog
- The smell (and taste) of fresh baked buns
- Walking barefoot on grass on a sunny day
- Watching a heavy rain storm
- Egg and mayonnaise sandwiches
- Sitting in the sun, knowing that the vitamin D is making me stronger
- Scouring car boot sales
- Talking to a good friend
- Hopping on the scales and seeing that I've put weight on
- Recieving a hand written letter
- Snuggling up in a bed with fresh, line dried linen
- Sprawling on the sofa, listening to music
- Home made pizza
- Seeing my children achieve their goals, however small
- The smell of cinnamon
- Barbeques on the beach
- Learning something new
- Watching clean washing blowing in a breeze
- My memories.... many, many of them
The list isn’t limited to the above; there are endless things that make me feel happy and contented with life. Sure, when I find the ‘perfect thing’ then I enjoy buying something new for the home or myself but when I decided to simplify my life it was partly because I’d found that buying things actually made me want more – I was never really satisfied.
Sometimes we all need to remind ourselves of the riches that really matter - those that money just can't buy. What would you put on your list?
Sharon J
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11 comments have been left:
Lovely post Sharon, straight from the heart. You are right we should all be counting our many blessings, off to make my own list.....
I'd love to see your list, Catz. Will you post it on your blog?
Fantastic list!......a real feel good string of stuff. There's so many simple pleasures that pass a lot of people by.
That reminds me, I better go out to get my crisp clean wind dried sheets off the line and whack them straight onto the bed.
Hi I love the list, its so right too. They are all real good things x
Hi Sharon! I've just posted my list! Feel much better now! We should all do this!
sweet sweet life
I'm envious of your sheets, New Leaf. I'm crossing my fingers for a dry weekend although it doesn't look as if I'm going to get it. Still, we haven't had much rain here this summer so we do need it.
Beautiful! And it's true--I'd probably trade a good amount of my earthly possessions for the smell of my grandmother's pancakes.
"Snuggling up in a bed with fresh, line dried linen"
Which reminds me - my washing is still on the line and I must change the boys beds tomorrow!!
I share a few of your riches Sharon. One of mine would be seeing the look of appreciation when I do somebody a good turn even if its just holding a door open for a stranger.
@ Sara. There really are some things that no amount of money will ever be able to buy, aren’t there? I bet those pancakes were wonderful :)
@ Eco-Gites. I hope you didn’t forget the washing. You can bet that everytime I forget mine, it rains!
@ Pat. Good ‘un! It costs so little to do something like that yet it can make a huge difference to that person’s day, especially in this rush-rush society where so few seem to have the time to show simple manners anymore. I was recently standing in a queue and as my legs were extremely painful, I really thought I’d fall to the floor if the queue didn’t get a move on. Eventually the lady in front of me asked if I’d like to go first. It cost her an extra minute or so in the queue but made an enormous difference to me.
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