Hummusgirl's Blog

Times, they are a changing, and with the recession and people making less money than they used to I think it’s high time we turned to a simple way of living.  Since I’ve never made much money independently, I like to focus my energy on living simply, yet richly.

My Mom is probably the person who I look up to in these areas as she focuses on our garden, composting, the environment, books, and living frugally.  I like to cook, exercise, read, and give my time freely to others because it makes me feel better about myself.  I tell myself I shouldn’t worry what others think of me and this stigma that I carry around because I know I should stay in the moment.

To enjoy life, however many obstacles we may face each day, is far more important than letting the past catch up to us.  Tell yourself, “I will find ways of making myself and others smile.  I will reach out to others and even if they push me down, I will forgive, love them, and release my pain.”   richer than those who max out their credit cards and eat out three times a day.  I eat out maybe on average, once a week, if that and live within my means (and then some).

So, to all those people who don’t know how to cook or never really attempted to scramble an egg, I say, get creative!  I read in Time magazine two years ago, that if the American people would try to be more like themselves, they would be more creative.  Maybe this means we don’t really know ourselves or we’re doing the wrong things to get out of the recession.   I found this fascinating because it seems that creativity in this country is something we simultaneously crave, get jealous of, and fear.  In this day and age, where Freud has told us the way to self-fulfillment is self-actualization, which I suppose is being true to yourself and finding meaning in one’s life.

For me, finding meaning in my life, seven years ago when I got out of the mental hospital was not easy and I made huge pains to progress.  Please don’t think I was a raving lunatic or anything- I was in there less than a month and made huge pains to get lots of people on my side and be a better person (fyi this blog is proof of that).

But the first *big* thing I realized was that I could not get better on my own.  I needed lots of people (however small the part) to carry some of the weight I had previously kept so privately to myself.  I had suddenly had all sorts of friends; hospital ones; family friends and family;  people who I hadn’t really talked to in years suddenly became a part of my new project.

Alas though, I had to make peace with the fact that some did not know the real me and I didn’t fit into their life anymore; and thus my evolution into a new way of living and new friends.

Besides that, starting over was a big factor in gaining sanity and perception on my new life.  Sometimes I think that is why the USA is such a big power.  We got to start a whole new government 200 plus years ago that had never been established.  It does have its downsides in terms of right to bear arms, but is also incredibly lucrative because we have freedom of speech.  Maybe that’s also why Germany is doing so well now; they got to start over after WWII and now that country is highly respected.  I like that Germany is very environmentally friendly.  I used to watch the German news on PBS and loved how smart it was.

Anyway, I trust all of you out there have some weight to carry in your lives; so please find safe ways of finding people you can trust to take some of it off. Best…