Posts Tagged ‘lowell bennion’

Learn to like what doesn’t cost much.
Learn to like reading, conversation, music.
Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.
Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, rowing, climbing hills.
Learn to like people, even though some of them may be different . . . different from you.
Learn to like to work and enjoy the satisfaction of doing your job as well as it can be done.
Learn to like the song of birds, the companionship of dogs.
Learn to like gardening, puttering around the house, and fixing things.
Learn to like the sunrise and sunset, the beating of rain on the roof and windows, and the gentle fall of snow on a winter day.
Learn to keep your wants simple and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others.

-Lowell Bennion

I came across this quote the other day and it really spoke to me.  I had just gotten off a phone call with my sister, Brooke.  Her family has been hit hard by this recession.  Her husband is a mortgage broker and times have been really tough for them.  We talked about how one of the most challenging parts of making do is not being able to spend money on entertainment.  She really misses taking her family out for dinner.

But she also told me how they have discovered more simple pleasures like going on long walks as a family, playing board games together or laying out on their trampoline at night and looking at the stars.  This recession has had a silver lining for her… they talk a lot more and have grown a lot closer as a family.  I guess learning to love simple things really means you get to create your own happiness…