two months ago i came across this book by @_sarahwilson_. i knew nothing about it, but i felt energetically compelled to buy it. buy it; i did, and significantly influence my life; it has.
sarah writes a lot about capitalism, consumerism, climate change, and the effects of technology on society. she discusses how we're all sucked into this more more more mentality - always craving more. consuming more. desiring more. when she first started her business, i quit sugar, her accountants asked her: what are your financial goals? to which sarah replied: i don't have any. she then proceeded to state, i just don't want to be one of those sad people - one of those people who wants enough money to buy a toyota, gets the toyota, and then wants an audi. her goal was to earn enough money to live off the minimum wage for the rest of her life. nothing more.
reading this, and her subsequent decision to not sell her business, but shut it down (to live a life in alignment with what she truly believes), profoundly resonated with me. i've struggled, and have been struggling, with this idea of money. any time i reach a particular financial goal, i find myself wanting to make more, to save more. but then i pause: how much money is enough money? what will more money get me that i don't already have?
the truth is, i don't need more money. i fully acknowledge that i live in a very privileged position - a position many others do not. this position, however, allows me to stop and question, what is truly important? would i live differently if i had $1,000 in my savings compared to $100,000? i would like to think the answer is no.
i've always tried to live a very conscious, intentional, frugal life. only buying what i need. but even still, i live in excess. i've contributed to the consumerist, wasteful society we now live in. and that is why i've engaged in a month-long challenge, accompanied by @jasminestyles6 and @w.a.x.x.x.e.d, where we only buy what we need - groceries and petrol.
this, along with my desire to move to thailand for a year, is the start of me fully embracing this one wild and precious life in which we've been given.