Some thoughts on life. . . and money

i find myself overwhelmed these days. i try not to obsess about
finances but i bet if you ask my wife she will tell you a different
tale. Truth be told, lately i have been a bit overwhelmed but maybe
not by what i should be. Amy and i have talked a lot about
simplifying, about sustainability. Being a bit of a history addict i
have poured through old books and journals, some famous folk, some
not. Maybe it is the shrinking frontier - no place left to spread our
legs and roam. Perhaps its the ease of transportation and mass
communication and advertising bridging the gap and invading ever last
private space we have.
Folks back in the day seldom traveled more than 20 miles from home. . .ever!
(Save those stoic lads clad in their animal skin clothes out on
the fringes of civilization). Now-a-days it's nigh impossible to stay
home and be content - and that is how i tie this altogether. Traveling
equals money - food, gas, nick-nacks, entry fees, parking fees. . .
money, money, money. Even at home, we find things that we "need", more
money - supplies for school, for candle making, kitchenware for this
or that, clothes. . . .
It's not that the money is the problem, it is that it seems not a day
goes by that we don't talk about buying this, spending that, budgeting
for this or that or the other. . . it's irritating.
i would love to survive a week without a single word being said about
money. Wipe anything related from our vocabularies and spend a week in
the dirt, in the garden or in the river, or in a tree. We are slaves
to what we let master us. i look forward to the day when money isn't
hovering near the center of our lives!!!