Joyful Musings Celebrates 'Enough'

By SUSAN DROMEY HEETER, Joyful Musings, InDepthNH

Today I muse joyfully on waiting, on saving, on patience. And while two of these words are actions and one a virtue, they each serve to provide health, contentment and, most importantly, sustainability.

I recently sat down with Ashton Spangler, a Climate Organizer. We met initially when we both volunteered for the PortSwap, an event that began several years ago where people bring clothes to swap. It's an event that began in the Portsmouth Library and now, due to its abundance and size, is held in the gym at the Community Campus. We sorted through clothes people brought in, bags and bags of pants, dresses, socks. We laughed at t-shirts, paired shoes, and did not stop for hours. It was busy. It was overwhelming. It was a lot.

As Spangler is a Climate Organizer, I asked her what her take was on our consumption as a society, on the reason we have so many bags and stuff and closets filled with excess. It was Spangler who mentioned waiting, saving, patience. She spoke of how when we consume, we essentially make life harder on ourselves; we “create more anxiety.” She suggested we become willing to take slow, methodical steps - to consume less, to share with others, to realize we don’t have to buy.

And while it’s common sense, in a world of influencers and more is more and storage units and walk in closets, it does seem to go against the American dream of literally having it ALL. Waiting, saving and patience are rarities in a society of instant gratification, same day deliveries. Excess.

And yet, I muse joyfully there are those subtle whisperers of slowing down, of patience, of people like Spangler who do not preach, rather, suggest and laugh and who work in a myriad of ways to find solutions and like minded people who abhor clutter and excess but who bask in clean air, water and solutions of sustainability.

It’s the time of spring cleaning, sorting through and throwing out. I muse joyfully, as you stare at your garage or basement or drawers, you rethink the next trip out and remember you already have enough. I muse joyfully we will wait and save and delight in patience. It’s simple but not easy; we wouldn’t have credit card debt, bins and storage units if it were. Alas, Joyful Musers, celebrate your enough this May; I delight you will.

Susan Dromey Heeter writes from Newmarket and often from the road where she joyfully muses on life in the fast and slow lanes. She drives a stick shift, can also ride a unicycle and recently retired after 30+ years of teaching. Dromey Heeter finds joy primarily in Milk Duds and people who make her laugh, not necessarily in that order. Follow Susan @dromeyheeter on Instagram and/or @BudgetVogue63. She can also be reached at dromeyheeter@gmail.com.

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.