Contentment
By: Karen WeHunt Harden, Contributing Writer | kw1950@gmail.com
“Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of good.” Voltaire, 1770
“…progress and only progress.” Dana K. White, 2021
Raised during the depression, our parents had a scarcity mindset due to the state of the country and rationing. They never recovered from their fear of shortages. Daddy kept rubber bands, paper clips, and a big ball of string. He could fix almost anything with those three simple supplies. Aunt Biddie never threw away a mayonnaise jar or any old medicine. Mother told us her grandmother, Elzie Carnell, cut cardboard to line her shoes when they lived at 17 Buncombe Street in Woodruff when she was a child.
It is amazing how little we actually need. When going on a trip, we take the essentials. How would it feel to have your home de-cluttered so that stepping through your front door would feel like returning to a tidy, inviting, cozy hotel room decorated with your personality?
I embrace the Scandinavian Concept of Hygge – to be cozy, comfy, and content. I read The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson and learned “how to free yourself and your family from a lifetime of clutter.” Do it yourself before others have to do it for you. “A loved one wishes to inherit nice things from you. Not all things from you.”
With references, I can coach you. Please contact me if you need a push in the downsizing direction. “For we brought nothing into the world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out (1 Timothy 6:7 KJV).
Now buy the orchids,
Light the candles,
Wear your best,
Use cloth napkins
And perhaps, adopt one more cat.
Invest your time in people –
not controlling vast possessions.
Karen Harden is a local author from Spartanburg, SC. She authored Hope From Stalag Luckenwalde: Fifteen Pounds of Love Letters. It was written after Karen and her brother discovered an old cedar chest filled with love letters written between their father and mother, Clarence and Sara WeHunt, during WWII. The love letters document much of their everyday lives while Clarence was over seas and Sara was living in Woodruff, SC. To find out more about her book click here.
Author: Tracy Sanders
