7 Quick Takes: On Being Old Fashioned
I thought I would keep my old fashioned train rolling and write my 7QT's on the topic. I have been thinking about it a fair bit (and trying to practice it) lately. I'm not all that good at it yet but I will share with you a few of the things I thought would help slow life down to a "good old days" pace.
{one}
Food:
Food comes first. I so often get busy doing things and don't make the time to make real meals. I will wake up in the morning and do everything else first before eating... so if I run out of time guess what ends up not happening. I need to make breakfast first and plan ahead for lunches. Still working on the whole planning in advance. I need to pre-make some meals for when Kyle and I are both working. Thankfully he makes some good suppers when I've been working because he is the awesomest. Back in the day it seems people weren't always rushing out the door.. Or even if they had to wake up early I imagine they still had a good meal. Waking up early...that's another habit that I do not have. I struggle. Also nothing makes me feel more accomplished than getting the kitchen clean! Dishes in the morning and at night would really contribute to a slow life routine, because dishes can be very therapeutic (Kyle you can use this against me if you want)
{two}
Prayer:
Praying as if everything depended upon it. Oh wait...everything does depend on God. We just need to have some good old fashioned devotion and spiritual discipline. Our society often makes us believe that we have enough tools to get by on our own, there is always an answer for everything and you can get almost anything you need instantly, from food to health care. I imagine in the old days things like modern medicine and getting absolutely everything from a grocery store weren't a luxury. They actually had to rely on things like prosperous crops and live animals and good health to make a living and keep a family going. I want to learn how to treat everything from God as a gift and to not take it all for granted as I so often do. I really have such an embarrassingly luxurious life compared to a large number of people in the world, and even compared to many of our grandparents and great grandparents. Which leads me to my next point.
{three}
Un-entitlement:
I don't think I need to explain this one too much because it is easy to see how our generation could possess a sort of entitlement. I never had to go without. Ever. I often try to think about what it would be like to live during the Wars or the 30's, where things were rationed where something as simple as sugar or soap was a luxury. I want to try hard to enjoy the things that I have because of the sacrifice of young people before me. Even the certainty of having loved ones around, I don't have to worry about sending Kyle over seas to fight and possibly never come home. I want to appreciate what we have. To cook and clean and take good care of my possessions not because I worked so hard to have them, but because I didn't have to make such huge sacrifices to have them. It's relatively easy for us to attain anything we may want and I don't want to live as if everything is a given or disposable. It is hard in our consumer society but it's worth a shot trying to change little ways about how we think about our possessions. Another thing to add to this would be making things instead of buying things, reusing and repurposing things, and buying things second hand.
{four}
Hospitality:
Good old fashioned (I know that phrase is going to get old) hospitality. Everyone...just come on over, the door's open, we'll scrounge up some food and drinks and have a good visit! I want to be that type of family! The home where people feel welcome, where there is always enough for one more mouth, or if someone needs a good listening ear they can sit down for a rest and have some tea or coffee. It's a bit hard right now because obviously I have a couple jobs and I'm not here all the time, but I just want to be open to people! Also to be neighbourly is nice and old fashioned. We have been so blessed to live on this block! Our neighbours have been so wonderful to bring us tons of garden goodies and baking and inviting us in for coffee or drinks. I can't wait to keep getting to know everyone on our block and continue to be great neighbours. Kyle can we host the block Christmas party!? (just kidding...maybe next year.)
{five}
Family:
Something I need to work on is keeping in good touch with my parents. In the old days (for the most part...I don't really have any sources just conceptions) people usually stayed close to their families. They would live on the same farmstead or in the same small town as their parents and as their kids. You always knew what was going on in each others lives because extended family was more immediate... Now that I live 7 hours away from my hometown, I can hardly keep in touch with just my parents! Let alone extended family. I think I have that "fake busy" syndrome where I am too busy looking at Facebook or Pinterest to make time to call home... or I just don't make time... I don't know what it is... maybe it's true what they say about losing communication skills because of all these impersonal connections we have through the internet. All I know is that I really need to work on this one as a priority. (Sorry Mom! I'll call you. You too grandma!)
{six}
Finances:
Back in the day people kept better track of their money. They would have to actually go to the bank and write things down to keep track. Now that there is online banking it is easier to keep track, but for me it is also easier to ignore. You don't have the money in your hands to see it disappearing. This also goes for letting things go to waste. We don't really try to stretch our money, although I think it would be good for us to be on more of a strict budget (right now our plan is keep saving money in mind...not the most foolproof way of going about it). I want to spend more time considering what our needs are and what is really just a waste of money. I want to get by with what we have before we bring in more things. Creating a budget would probably be a good way to be more conscious of this. We are working on it.
{seven}
Un-technologize:
This one is self explanatory. I think if I spent less time using these so called "time saving" technologies, I would have more time, energy, and motivation for all of the other six things I mentioned. There needs to be a limit. It will probably be a life long struggle as we gain more things and our world advances, but I want to make an effort now to disconnect and really live this life I've been given not through a screen.
I hope this post made you think about how life is now and how it once may have been. I know I have been. Let's try to slow down and live with a little less distraction.
{one}
Food:
Food comes first. I so often get busy doing things and don't make the time to make real meals. I will wake up in the morning and do everything else first before eating... so if I run out of time guess what ends up not happening. I need to make breakfast first and plan ahead for lunches. Still working on the whole planning in advance. I need to pre-make some meals for when Kyle and I are both working. Thankfully he makes some good suppers when I've been working because he is the awesomest. Back in the day it seems people weren't always rushing out the door.. Or even if they had to wake up early I imagine they still had a good meal. Waking up early...that's another habit that I do not have. I struggle. Also nothing makes me feel more accomplished than getting the kitchen clean! Dishes in the morning and at night would really contribute to a slow life routine, because dishes can be very therapeutic (Kyle you can use this against me if you want)
{two}
Prayer:
Praying as if everything depended upon it. Oh wait...everything does depend on God. We just need to have some good old fashioned devotion and spiritual discipline. Our society often makes us believe that we have enough tools to get by on our own, there is always an answer for everything and you can get almost anything you need instantly, from food to health care. I imagine in the old days things like modern medicine and getting absolutely everything from a grocery store weren't a luxury. They actually had to rely on things like prosperous crops and live animals and good health to make a living and keep a family going. I want to learn how to treat everything from God as a gift and to not take it all for granted as I so often do. I really have such an embarrassingly luxurious life compared to a large number of people in the world, and even compared to many of our grandparents and great grandparents. Which leads me to my next point.
{three}
Un-entitlement:
I don't think I need to explain this one too much because it is easy to see how our generation could possess a sort of entitlement. I never had to go without. Ever. I often try to think about what it would be like to live during the Wars or the 30's, where things were rationed where something as simple as sugar or soap was a luxury. I want to try hard to enjoy the things that I have because of the sacrifice of young people before me. Even the certainty of having loved ones around, I don't have to worry about sending Kyle over seas to fight and possibly never come home. I want to appreciate what we have. To cook and clean and take good care of my possessions not because I worked so hard to have them, but because I didn't have to make such huge sacrifices to have them. It's relatively easy for us to attain anything we may want and I don't want to live as if everything is a given or disposable. It is hard in our consumer society but it's worth a shot trying to change little ways about how we think about our possessions. Another thing to add to this would be making things instead of buying things, reusing and repurposing things, and buying things second hand.
{four}
Hospitality:
Good old fashioned (I know that phrase is going to get old) hospitality. Everyone...just come on over, the door's open, we'll scrounge up some food and drinks and have a good visit! I want to be that type of family! The home where people feel welcome, where there is always enough for one more mouth, or if someone needs a good listening ear they can sit down for a rest and have some tea or coffee. It's a bit hard right now because obviously I have a couple jobs and I'm not here all the time, but I just want to be open to people! Also to be neighbourly is nice and old fashioned. We have been so blessed to live on this block! Our neighbours have been so wonderful to bring us tons of garden goodies and baking and inviting us in for coffee or drinks. I can't wait to keep getting to know everyone on our block and continue to be great neighbours. Kyle can we host the block Christmas party!? (just kidding...maybe next year.)
{five}
Family:
Something I need to work on is keeping in good touch with my parents. In the old days (for the most part...I don't really have any sources just conceptions) people usually stayed close to their families. They would live on the same farmstead or in the same small town as their parents and as their kids. You always knew what was going on in each others lives because extended family was more immediate... Now that I live 7 hours away from my hometown, I can hardly keep in touch with just my parents! Let alone extended family. I think I have that "fake busy" syndrome where I am too busy looking at Facebook or Pinterest to make time to call home... or I just don't make time... I don't know what it is... maybe it's true what they say about losing communication skills because of all these impersonal connections we have through the internet. All I know is that I really need to work on this one as a priority. (Sorry Mom! I'll call you. You too grandma!)
{six}
Finances:
Back in the day people kept better track of their money. They would have to actually go to the bank and write things down to keep track. Now that there is online banking it is easier to keep track, but for me it is also easier to ignore. You don't have the money in your hands to see it disappearing. This also goes for letting things go to waste. We don't really try to stretch our money, although I think it would be good for us to be on more of a strict budget (right now our plan is keep saving money in mind...not the most foolproof way of going about it). I want to spend more time considering what our needs are and what is really just a waste of money. I want to get by with what we have before we bring in more things. Creating a budget would probably be a good way to be more conscious of this. We are working on it.
{seven}
Un-technologize:
This one is self explanatory. I think if I spent less time using these so called "time saving" technologies, I would have more time, energy, and motivation for all of the other six things I mentioned. There needs to be a limit. It will probably be a life long struggle as we gain more things and our world advances, but I want to make an effort now to disconnect and really live this life I've been given not through a screen.
I hope this post made you think about how life is now and how it once may have been. I know I have been. Let's try to slow down and live with a little less distraction.
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