I am able. That is about all I can tell you at the moment. I am in the midst (well, actually, on the downhill), of having my living estate sale. Downsizing has been a powerful lesson in letting go of life's earthly treasures. Letting go of emotional attachments has been challenging at times, but I find it easier with each release. I advise all of you to not store up treasures on earth. They are not worth it--the energy, emotion, or time it takes to disperse them.
I laugh at myself when I consider that so much of my current stash of things were originally purchased because of the value they'd hold for our future. We believed (and in any other economy), the value would have held and even gone up. We thought we'd have been able to sell them and help supplement our income as we sold them a few at a time. It's kinda how millions of folks felt when they purchased their homes fifteen or more years ago. BEFORE the housing market exploded. They truly believed they'd have what they needed to sustain them in their golden years.
Many young people hoped to resell to purchase larger homes, better homes, more things. They bought into the idea of refinancing their house equity to pay off credit cards and purchase the backyard swimming pool. And some were told their property appraised out at more than it really was worth-- just to flim-flam them into getting higher loans. Then those mortgagees sold their mortgages to Countrywide and others in a block of mortgages. Then the market went bust and all those mortgages left people underwater on the value of their homes. The economy tanked and folks lost their jobs and went bankrupt. Only the wise folks in America came out unscathed. Yet, even they have been hit with items that are not worth as much today as they were years ago.
Folks could make a killing today buying property and antiques that others sell far below value, if they want to take a risk that the economy is going to improve. And if they had the time to wait for the items to increase in value. But no one knows. No one. Speculators can speculate. Politicians can make promises. But who is to say what the world is going to be like in another few years. All across the world we see countries, like Greece, clamoring for ways to keep afloat. We are told in America that our nearly 16 trillion dollars in debt is increasing at such astronomical rates that our children's children will owe 150,000 the day they are born. Gloom and doom. Despair greets young people on graduation day. The promise of change and hope is waning for thousands upon thousands of young people. So little in life is secure for them.
I suppose that is why, for me, my faith in God sustains me. My family is my joy and mainstay. My church family is an anchor. Friends are my comfort. As I think about it all, I wonder if folks really know how rich they are apart from material things. This whole downsizing thing has been such a blessing to me. From my tiny 562 square feet, I get to see the Okahoma sunrise each morning from my kitchen window. It is amazing. The pinks, and aqua blues. I want to take pictures each morning. But nothing could possibly capture the majesty and glory of the moments as the sun slowly comes up. It is breathtaking. Each scene gives way to thoughts of how great a God we have. My cup overflows. I pray yours does too.
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