The Sweet Spot, by Kate Supino (Guest Post)

 

Today's guest post comes to us from my good friend Kate over at A Good Living. She has a lot of sweet things to say, and if you knew Kate, you'd know she means every word. Stop by and visit her when you get a chance...you won't regret it.

The Sweet Spot

I watched a movie the other night called “The Company Men.” It’s about a group of highly paid executives who get laid off one by one, and are forced to reevaluate their lives spent accumulating status symbols and possessions. It had Ben Affleck in it, whom I admire for his acting work. (By the way, I was a Ben Affleck fan long before it was cool. I even stuck with him through that whole J Lo debacle.)

The movie made me think about where the sweet spot lies between uber-wealth and abject poverty. When do our possessions begin possessing us, and at what point do we begin yearning for a mani-pedi and a hot stone massage?

I’ve always shaken my head at the concept of placing one’s foundation in financial stability in the hands of a corporate giant that can decide to cut the cord on a whim, like in the movie I saw. I subscribe to Charles Ingalls’ ideology of making one’s own way in the world and owing nothing to anyone. (That’s not to say I don’t have a credit card and don’t shop with it. I am a girl, after all. Let’s be reasonable.)

But as a lover of the creature comforts, I can definitely see the allure of owning designer clothing and high-end kitchen appliances. I have no desire to struggle financially, or to “rough it.” So where is that sweet spot? When is enough….enough?

For insight into the answer, I can look to my good friend, Anne Goetz, owner of this blog that she is graciously allowing me to guest post on. Anne takes the ordinary and transforms it. What I might blithely buy at a yard sale and hang on my wall with nary a second thought, Anne would think, “I think I can make it better.” And she does.

One of my favorite singers, Sheryl Crow, has a great line in one of her songs. “It’s not having what you want. It’s wanting what you’ve got.” I love that line. I think maybe the sweet spot between excess and poverty is in the ability to take what you already have and work with it. If you can’t afford a house, maybe you can have an awesome one-bedroom apartment. If you can’t buy a brand new car, get a used one you can afford and keep it immaculate. If all you can afford is yard sale items or your grandmother’s bedroom set, keep coming back to the House from 1800 for inspiring decorating ideas.

You don’t have to live up to anyone else’s concepts of wealth or success. Live cleanly, love your family and let them love you back. Pay your bills and eat your vegetables. Do all that and I think you’ll find the sweet spot in your own life.

 

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Thank you, Kate. You rock!