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Quote of the Day: Dr. Joyce Brothers

July 24th, 2011

“When you come right down to it,
the secret to having it all
is loving it all.”

Dr Joyce Brothers

Earlier this week, Mr Chiots and I were talking about how blessed we feel. That’s not to say our lives are easy, that we don’t have difficulties and that we have everything figured out. I think it’s more a matter of being content with what you do have and the situation that you’re in. It comes from living within your means and having clearly defined goals to work toward. Sure it would be great to have extra money, be able to work fewer hours, cultivate a larger garden, and many other things – but in reality we have food on our table, a little plot of soil to grow things in, a roof over our heads and we have each other. We could spend our time longing for more – but that would only take the joy from what we do have.




The older we get, the more we strive to simplify our lives by getting rid of the unnecessary. We have learned to love simple food, our small home, our jobs and our community. The more I try to cultivate the simple life, the more fulfillment I find in my life, even in those simple mundane tasks like cooking or cleaning. Perhaps it’s because I’m finally figuring out what things bring me true joy, or maybe it’s about learning to be satisfied with what I do have. Learning to be content no matter what our circumstances are truly makes life more enjoyable.

What things in your life are you blessed to have at the moment?

13 Comments to “Quote of the Day: Dr. Joyce Brothers”
  1. kristin @ going country on July 24, 2011 at 7:30 am

    My whole post today is an homage to the rain. Because when you have no air conditioning and the heat index is over a hundred degrees day after day, there is NOTHING so welcome as a cooling rain.

    Reply to kristin @ going country's comment

    • Susy on July 24, 2011 at 8:18 am

      I’ve been thinking about you and your lack of AC on these hot days!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  2. Lisa@ The Cutting Edge of Ordinary on July 24, 2011 at 8:53 am

    Amen to that post. In a world where it seems like people always want more, we are striving to need less. Love this post.

    Reply to Lisa@ The Cutting Edge of Ordinary's comment

  3. Michelle @ give a girl a fig on July 24, 2011 at 10:23 am

    great post. so true… I’m blessed to have my family…when it all comes down to it, that’s what matters most…to me, anyway.

    Reply to Michelle @ give a girl a fig's comment

  4. Kathi on July 24, 2011 at 11:02 am

    What a beautiful post!

    Reply to Kathi's comment

  5. Sherri on July 24, 2011 at 11:09 am

    So true… and so touching. For me, it is family. My husband and our 5 children matter to me more than anything else. Should everything around me be gone in an instant, that’s all I would care about. On a day to day basis, to have our health, access to medical care, simple food, clean water and safe shelter are all huge blessings when the majority of the population on our planet does not. Excellent post!

    Reply to Sherri's comment

  6. KimH on July 24, 2011 at 12:01 pm

    Great post & one I resonate with as well.. Im so blessed in my life.. and I agree.. the more you love what you have & where you are, the better it becomes.. Not necessarily because more will come in, but you appreciate it and realize you really do already have it all..

    Im so blessed and thankful for my family, friends, my health, and my ability to make the best of every situation I find myself in..

    Have a great day!!

    Reply to KimH's comment

  7. Eliza J on July 24, 2011 at 1:09 pm

    What a wonderful and thought provoking post today! I have been wanting to simplify my life…in ways have, but in other way’s can’t seem to find my way there. I am part of a generation that has collected a lot of “stuff” and just wants to clean house, and keep the “important stuff”, family stuff that I really like, and only things that I like, need and use. Life changes and our likes and wants change. I just need to find the time, and never seem to have enough of that…I’m working on it though! Thanks for your daily inspiration :)

    Reply to Eliza J's comment

  8. Kjirsti on July 24, 2011 at 3:18 pm

    I too loved this post. I was recently home for a family reunion. It was wonderful to see everyone, but I felt myself overwhelmed with how busy it was. I grew up in a home where there was never “down time.” Now with a home of my own I love having the opportunity to sit down and just think. Sometimes I feel guilty, I feel like I should be doing more, but then I realize that I’m happy and being a happy, content person is one of the greatest gifts to the world.

    Reply to Kjirsti's comment

  9. MAYBELLINE on July 24, 2011 at 4:33 pm

    Health, air conditioning & fans, a great job, lovely garden, good kids, solid husband, and the ability to be grateful for all I have and encourage others to live BELOW their means.

    Even though I’m deep into “swamp pants” season, I’m thankful that I am growing a bounty of healthy food and have the ability to launder those pants.

    Reply to MAYBELLINE's comment

  10. Barefeet In The Kitchen on July 24, 2011 at 5:37 pm

    This is beautifully written and I am grateful for my family and our air conditioning today. We’re home from church and will be spending the rest of the day just by ourselves. It’s a beautiful thing. The entire house, except for me, is asleep right now and all is well in my world.

    Reply to Barefeet In The Kitchen's comment

  11. Diane on July 24, 2011 at 7:37 pm

    You’re very lucky to have pinned down your values so young, and to have a partner who shares them. Love your blog!

    Reply to Diane's comment

  12. Alyssa on July 24, 2011 at 10:16 pm

    So nice to read a little piece like this. It’s exactly what we are striving towards, being happy with what we’ve got. One day at a time we’ll get there.

    Reply to Alyssa's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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