According to Wikipedia, Diogenes of Sinope was a Greek philosopher who believed that virtue was better revealed in action and not theory, and whose life was a relentless campaign to debunk the social values and institutions of what he saw as a corrupt society. I love this story about Diogenes approach to life:
A friend of Diogenes visited him and found him eating a dinner of lentils. The friend was a courtier in the court of the king. He said to Diogenes, “If you would learn to flatter the king you would not have to eat lentils.” Diogenes replied, “And if you would learn to eat lentils you would not have to flatter the king.”
One of the ways that this No Restaurant project has made me more aware of the ways that I refuse to “eat lentils”:
- Eating out way too many times each week
- Buying books and DVDs instead of using the library or trading with friends
- Purchasing new appliances instead of having old ones repaired
-
Starbucks – enough said
What has my refusal to live simply robbed me of?
- Family time – I have had to work overtime to pay for the convenience of restaurant food because I am too tired to cook – get the irony?
- Buying books and CDs instead of borrowing them – and then not having the time to read/watch them
- Paying too much for a new computer when I was single and super broke – because I didn’t have the time to look for a deal.
- Time in the morning with God because I am too busy trying to do ministry.
I am working really hard to learn to eat the lentils in my life – I want the freedom that simplicity offers – not for simplicity’s sake, but in order to live the life that I believe that God wants for me and my family.
My question for you today – and please share – I have heard from so many women that they are as inspired and challenged (in a good way) as I am by your responses – is:
How are you learning to “eat the lentils” (live on less or more simply) in your life?
As the admin of this site is working, no question very shortly it
will be famous, due to its quality contents.
We are eating less meat to save money, and my family hasn’t really noticed that much. We have several vegetarian dishes that everyone loves, so that is good.
Speaking of lentils, I have 2 great recipes that my family loves.
Well, that’s easy. My husband was laid-off two months ago. I thought we were already pretty wise with our money but I have REALLY learned what that means when I have to watch every single penny that goes out.
No more grabbing something off the shelf just because it caught my eye. If it’s not on the grocery list then I must not NEED it, just WANT it. Now I really know the difference between those.
That even means accepting a box of food generously donated to all the out of work union men when my husband signed the out of work list at his union hall. SIX cans of kidney beans…yuck! among other things. But I learned yesterday how to make chili with those beans. And it was really good!
Talk about learning to make lemonaid from lemons…
I too used to eat out too much – mostly because I was tired after a long day at work. I had to ask God to be Lord of my time and to start honoring my body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. Did that mean sacrifices? YES. Was it easy? NO.
I started getting up earlier in the mornings – usually around 5:45 to exercise on my treadmill (no gym expenses) and built my body up to run the 26.2 mile Big Sur Marathon April 26th last month! Wow! Me who never used to exercise at all. Me, who is turning 50 this year. Me who has spent so many years ill with end stage kidney disease and was blessed with a kidney transplant 3 years ago. Who would have ever thought? Well, the moral of this story is that taking care of my temple gives me more energy.
Part two of taking care of my body is eating healthy – and that means cooking at home every day. It means I have to take time on the weekends planning the week’s meals, getting the shopping done, and figuring in the nights I need to make sure I have either leftovers or crock pot type meals for the evenings I don’t have time to start from scratch after work due to Bible study (M and Th nights). It feels so much better to fuel my body with healthy food – lots of veggies, fruit, whole grains and lean protein. I’ve gotten really into planning meals and trying new recipes. One tip I have learned is to double recipes that freeze well and freeze half so I always have a few meals in the freezer I can pull out if I really can’t mange to cook from scratch that night.
By the way, I am SO guilty of buying books instead of trading or getting them from the library and yes, I have so many that I have not yet had time to read that if I didn’t buy another book for a year or two, I MIGHT start to get near the end of reading the books I already have. At least buying books is not that expensive of a hobby???? Less than a round of golf anyway 🙂
LOVE your blog!
Laura
I’ve been making a lot more things myself. I used to bake bread now and then for fun. Now I do it at least once a week, sometimes twice, to save money. I’ve found that it’s fun (I love to bake anyway so that helps), helps work off frustration, and tastes SO much better. I also make lunchbox treats like granola bars, and of course my own cookies.
Of course now my 7-year-old ocassionally begs to have his sandwich on “bread that the store made.”
HI Kathi…..! I’m trying to curb my impulses to just jump in the car and go get the “thing ” I THINK I need…and think about it for a day or two first. Usually, by then, I find I don’t NEED it at all. It’s the difference between WANT and NEED.
Also…I think I want to cut out red meat…which will upset the hubby…for health. Or just cut back somewhat. Can I do it ? I LOVE a greatt steak ?
Maybe I can talk him into doing it too…having it less often and in smaller portions ( I eat small portions of any meat…but he is a MEAT lover !)