Peace in Simplifying?

Today was my sixth birthday. 6-0! I am thankful for my surprise birthday party that Jessica and Jeffrey planned for me at the beach in Gearheart, Oregon last week. They rented a house at the beach, that sleeps twelve people, to work on their next book, “The Little Teal Book of Trust.” To have my family, and extended family, together for the Fourth of July celebration and to surprise me with a party and birthday gifts to celebrate 60 years of life was awesome. The thought of a birthday celebration had not crossed my mind. It gave me such a feeling of joy and happiness to have family there to celebrate with me.

Over the years of my life, I never had a birthday party just for me. As I have mentioned before, I was born on my Mother’s twenty-first birthday and we almost always celebrated our birthday together. This was the first birthday that I celebrated without my Mom. I miss her. I know she would have loved to be at that party at Gearheart, with all the family, grandchildren and great grandchildren, and new baby Lucia only three weeks old. Mom would have loved all the seafood, crab and clams, and delicious crab soup Liz made. She also would have loved Dave and John’s great Margaritas! I believe that she was with us in spirit, enjoying the camaraderie of the family celebration.

My actual birthday day was spent in another way. I spent the day gathering all my past issues of daily devotional/meditation booklets that I have been saving for 15 plus years to put in the recycle bin. Those booklets, which I receive in the mail every month, have helped me with my early morning daily scripture study and meditation. Years and years of mediation booklets that were totally underlined, and dog-eared and notes written in the margins. They have inspired me, comforted me, challenged me and guided me. It was difficult to watch as the dump truck lifted my recycle bin and dumped all those years of reading and studying into his truck. I said a prayer of thank you to God for all the people that contribute to the writing of those meditation booklets. Many of the readings are awesome stories of people’s lives and how they have learned to live through the storms of life and learned to appreciate and feel gratitude for what is good, and beautiful in life.

Why did I decide to get rid of them? I believe I had been saving them in case I decided to write “my story” someday. They would have been a reference as to what I was reading and studying on any given day. Our home is full of paper work and articles of inspiration that I have saved and filed, and piles to file of what I have wanted to save. Moving back and forth between two homes has made it extremely difficult to be able to organize and file paperwork. I had to begin the purging process someplace. Those boxes and boxes of meditation booklets were filling a corner of my bedroom. I took this day to start the purging process. Each month I will receive another booklet to read and study. It’s time to look forward to the next stage of life. The last third of my life, which I doubt will be spent reading through my old devotional booklets. There is too much activity happening at this stage of life. I always thought that life would slow down by this stage of life. It has not. As our family grows with the grandchildren, and the importance of family activities, life gets even busier.

I cannot say that I felt peace as I recycled my meditation booklets. It is very difficult for me to throw things away. Especially something that has been as meaningful in my life. Aren’t we supposed to feel peace as we simplify our lives? Maybe I will feel more peace when I get to the financial paperwork purging!

Photo by Al McDougall
Gathering Sweet Peas, at the local Flower Farm, to fill our home with the sweet fragrance and beauty of Sweet Peas. A wonderful birthday flower for those born in July.