Compact/Compacters
Good Morning friends, the following is a partical article taken from www.yogajournal.com/lifestyles I subscribe to the magazine and the website newsletter. Do I practice yoga..you ask???? Not really, I practice AT yoga!! I love every aspect of yoga, the stretching, the meditation, the "oneness with earth", the lack of love for material objects. So, in all reality I think I am a yogi only I am a yogi in the "clumsy form". My newsletter had this link in it this morning and considering all the constant bombardment we get everyday about the economic meltdown that not only our country but now the whole world is facing right now, I found this quite soothing and refreshing. I hope you will enjoy it also.
When Less is More
Judy Davis never buys anything new if she can help it. A 58-year-old freelance marketing consultant who lives in Red Bluff, California, she favors thrift store clothing and secondhand furniture. Instead of buying gifts, she gives plants from her garden or bags she has sewn from cut-up vintage gowns. Judy is part of a Bay Area group called the Compact. The Compacters have vowed not to buy anything new for a year except bare essentials: food, medicine, cleaning products, and underwear (although not, of course, lingerie from Paris). Although few people take frugality quite as seriously as the Compacters do, more and more of us are voluntarily cutting back on buying and consumption. Many individuals choosing this lifestyle happen to be yogis. The seminal work of yoga philosophy, Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, frowns on materialism, and some yogis find that their asana practice alone helps them be happier with less.
The pursuit of the simple life is nothing new, of course. From Quakers to Transcendentalists, America has always had its share of those who associate simplicity with spiritual growth. Back-to-the-land hippies of the '60s and '70s found simplicity appealing for more secular reasons, such as ecological sustainability. But those who practice pared-down living today are not necessarily spiritual ascetics or off-the-grid granola types. Most are ordinary people modifying their everyday behavior-trying to be conscious about what they eat, drive, and buy.
AND, yes I did enjoy my shopping at the thrift store yesterday. We will be needing a microwave for the office in a few days and we found one that has never been used and does everthing you could want it to do and it was priced at $15.00, however, we got 25% off that since Tuesdays are senior discount day. I also bought 2 more fully lined wind suits that were brand new for around $6.50 each, plus a 3/4 length sweater, shirts for hubby, a movie and my "get to goal by spring 2009" outfit that is a size 8 petite.
No gain or loss on my weight in the last couple of days as I seem to be just holding my own. Got a lot of housecleaning to do today so that will give me a LOT of physical activity. Got some new recipes for chicken that I am going to try also. I like cooking several dishes to have while we are working.....that really helps to keep me from getting caught starving and grabbing a not so healthy food.
Blessings to each of you for peace, health, happiness. Chargail
but I am noticing my pants feel a little looser and that's a plus in my book
