We all get the buy-ite-us bug: Everyone does. https://thefrugalcatholic.com/the-frugal-catholic-rid-yourself-of-buy-ite-us-by-martha-wild-king-m-ed-november-2018/ What we do with this malady, however, either shapes or breaks us. For many, this disorder causes great internal and financial distress; but for those who have conquered this disease, feeling rich instantly is EASY to do!!!
What does it mean, though, to feel rich instantly? Does it imply funds falling from the ceiling? Forgotten funds. Alas, if it did, I could locate the $1800 in cash hidden so well in my house that no one could ever find it– myself, now included. That’s not feeling rich instantly. That’s feeling, “Goodness, dear Lord, where did I put it?”
Or does it mean that my escaped hamster, Elmer, who absconded my golden heirloom necklace and vanished into my apartment walls, suddenly returns--a gold necklace chomped between his teeth?
Well, maybe.
But more than that, feeling rich instantly is a gift because you know that such contentment only comes from the Lord. So give the following four a try--rearrange, re-imagine, acquire a rich attitude, breathe, and become magically, amazingly, richer.
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Rearrange and Re-Imagine Your Possessions
As a creature of habit, you can state exactly where your couch is. If you can’t, you’ll end up on the floor. The challenge comes when you walk into a department store or look online and see new, beautiful furniture, clothes, etc., and want them. Not good. However, a better habit is to rearrange differently the possessions you currently possess.
Repositioning, for example, generally sounds and looks like this. "Move that chair, and remove that big bowl. Shift that wooden duck to another shelf. Rearrange your picture postcard collection. Transfer those pillows from couch to chair. Wear that tie with a different shirt or jacket." There is no need to purchase anything new when re-configuring your goods; because relocating will give a fresh feel.
Now that you've rearranged, here is an example of re-imagining. Grandmother Martha is sitting at the old family dinner table with her handsome son and his two darling daughters, ages 5 and 2. The 2-year-old somehow bumps into Grandma’s 40-year-old plate collection hanging undisturbed on the wall for aforesaid years. Suddenly, the majority of saucers simultaneously crash onto the floor. Grandmother takes another big sip of wine and pretends to ignore the whole event lest she traumatizes the small child over old-broken dishes. And now that the grandchildren and dishes are gone, Grandmother uses the plate-collection holder to display other items, like porcelain bunnies. Re-imagining at its best!
Acquire a Rich Attitude
Rearranging and re-imagining are very important in feeling instantly richer, but having a "rich" attitude is imperative. The wealthy attitude we need is thankfulness. As frugal Catholics, thankfulness is a big bomb in our spiritual arsenal. In the Catholic EUCHARISTIC PRAYER II used in Mass, the Priest says, “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.” And we respond, “It is right and just.” Then the Priest adds, “It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Father most holy, through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, your Word through whom you made all things, whom you sent as our Savior and Redeemer, incarnate by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin.” Yes, it is our duty and salvation to give God thanks, but also thanking our Father is just plain FUN!
Thankfulness frees your spirit to more fully appreciate life: your life and the lives of others. When you find reasons every day to say, "Thanks, Lord," you'll find that the list goes on and on. You'll become more aware, by expressing appreciation to God, of the many blessings you presently have.
Thankfulness also draws me away from my cares and propels me to mentally pray for those folk whom I might not even know. Here is an example. I saw an older man today walking towards my workout gym, and I prayed, "Lord, please help that gentleman going across the street. He is so bent over. Father, thank you for giving him a triple portion of blessing today, for I know he must be in a lot of pain." Another illustration would be when my son recently went through his divorce. It was a year-long process. When the enemy was pelting his weapons towards me during those months, THANKFULNESS was that slippery slope up which the enemy had no assent. If I were assailed by fear, regret, defeat, depression, doubt, lies, and lack of faith, I’d start being thankful for everything from my legs that work, my lack of back pain, my wonderful service dog Bandit, my arms that can still hold my grandchildren. Gracious, the list goes on.
And guess what? Thankfully, thankfulness won, and I was the richer for it.
Practicing thankfulness also gives one a sense of power, for we have been blessed to be a blessing. For instance, before I take the first bite of my gluten-free sandwich, I can thank God for my lunch then ask Him to bless everyone who made that meal possible. I know He will do so because He says it in His Word. Praying your own thankful prayer will leave you feeling powerfully rich. https://thefrugalcatholic.com/the-frugal-catholic-blessed-to-be-a-blessing-by-martha-wild-king-m-ed-december-2016/ My mother, who was raised in The Great Depression Era, stated thankfulness in this way, "I wept because I had no shoes until I met the man who had no feet." That's a good saying to remember.
Breathe Deeply!
When I was rearing and homeschooling our five children for 22 years, all I could do at the end of the day was stare at the wall and breathe. My husband’s military service required many days, weeks, and months of his absence from home, so I forged ahead as a single parent. I learned how several deep breaths were sometimes the best medicine because of that stress.
Also, I understood what it meant to take in fresh mountain-top air from downhill skiing. You can taste the air deep in your lungs. Taste the freshness, the moisture, the flavor. So no matter where I am--on the back porch, the top of a mountain, or even around fresh-cut grass or ocean mist--breathing in the fresh air, taking in a deep breath, is one of life’s best"free-feel-rich-instantly medicines."
So to feel rich instantly at this moment:
1. Give thanks for anything, then step outside,
2. take a VERY deep breath and taste the air, then
3. walk back in on legs that hopefully work,
4. and sit in your favorite re-arranged and re-imagined chair.
BLESSINGS, Martha
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Martha Wild King, M. Ed., Author
The Frugal Catholic: Learn to live on less to give and save more.