If you do a search online for “thoughtful living” you will find a lot of interesting results. The thoughtful living I am thinking of has nothing to do with the metaphysical, fine wine or a class taught at the university. It is instead a change of attitude, eventually of mindset and ultimately of lifestyle that not only reduces the unnecessary in your life, but also impacts the world you live in.
They are two main aspects of Thoughtful Living for Frugal living
1. You have to slow down long enough to think about what you buying, why you are buying, do you really need it and is this something I need new. In essence you are slowing down the treadmill enough to limit consumerism impact on you.
2. You have impact on the world that is around you. Whether you directly want to, or indirectly, effect the planet, the smaller your footprint is, the bigger shadow you will cast to those who walk behind you.
The two ideas are interlocked like a chain and together they connect the important pieces of your life.
When you buy fewer new clothes and make more trips to 2nd hand stores or yard sales, you not only are saving yourself money, but reducing the waste that would otherwise add to the landfills. When you consider making more food items homemade or reheating leftovers, you are not only stretching a dollar, but also fighting against the consumer mentality that says our lives would be happier if only we bought their brand.
In some ways it would be exciting to see a revolution of sorts with people buying only second hand, reheating left-overs, making things from scratch and saving items from the dumpster; instead of being another statistic among consumer research and how much money they have made. Perhaps instead they would measure gross product recycled (GDR) instead of gross domestic product (GDP)
Thoughtful living is by far the best way to live, because not only do you get your cake, you get to eat it as well. We, being naturally selfish and self-serving people, we want to live prosperous lives, whether they be prosperous financially or of a quality of time. Living a thoughtful life not only allow us to do that, but indirectly allows us to become more community oriented, helping each other recycle more and that in turn helps others who are in need.
Let’s take it one step at a time, if we are already living thoughtfully and suffering burn out, look at the larger picture; who you effect and the smaller footprint you leave behind. If we are unsure about starting a thoughtful life, then consider the smaller steps that will take us to a future of greater success, either with money or quality of time.
This isn’t a 12 step program or a pill that will make things better. This is a change of attitude, mindset and lifestyle over the remaining part of our life. Through this we will make mistakes, we will go overboard in one direction or another, but ultimately we will find the balance that leads to a more content person, one might even say, happier.
The pessimist may see the flaws and reality in this, but the positive person will see hope and eventually, success.
photo courtesy flickr/cc - Randy Son Of Robert
I totally agree with this post. I love buying second hand clothes for my kids (and even me, though I have a harder time finding them). We have a local thrift store that has a 75% off day. It's hard to beat shirts for 40 cents and pants for 70! I work hard to find well-made clothes and can buy better clothes for my kids because I buy used, then I could afford to buy new. I also love swapping kids clothes with friends! I have found that if people know that you like to give and get hand-me-downs that they will make it a point to offer you their hand-me-downs too!