Could you live with less?

My husband and I often talk about what we could live with or without. We say we could move into a small condo, perhaps a two bedroom, as long as there’s a closet big enough for all my shoes!

After working for over thirty years and raising three sons, we certainly have accumulated a lot of things. Our house is perfect for a family of five, a tad too big for two, but we have all lived normal, middle-class lives. I think people live within their scope of income for the most part, and perhaps to an extent to the job position or title they hold. No one wants to go backwards or scale down; having less is not the North American way. We want more, we want bigger, and some cannot fathom living with less. Any of us who felt the negative impact of this past recession had to rethink the importance of the size of our house, our savings, and our shopping bags.

As we head into our November 11th Remembrance Day, make sure to take a moment to remember those who fought our battles, those who won and those who lost. November 11th was set to celebrate the end of World War 1, and in Canada, we pay tribute to those who died in any war. At 11 O’clock, on the 11th day, of the 11th month, in 2011, observe the two minutes of silence to remember those gone. I think we should also take an extra moment to be grateful for what we have, and think about what we could live without. Not that we have to give anything up, but could we? If we lost our jobs, our money, and our homes, but we still had our loved ones, our futures, and our minds, would we be OK? Could we downsize at work or at home? Could we live without going to restaurants or on vacations if we had to?

Most of us started our adult lives with very little, and yet we are attached to our purchases. We are attached to our jobs, and yet, we quit, move on, get laid off, and we move through that process. We should be attached to people, and we should appreciate them more; that should be part of the conversations we have this week when we are remembering those lost at war, or otherwise.

Buy a poppy and support the veterans! 11:11:11:11 will never happen again, one time only, this week! Think about what you could live without, and what you could not live without, and then take that extra moment to be grateful, and remember those who fought for us. Lest we forget.