I am constantly exasperated by the fact that we are bombarded with the message that success and happiness can be equated to owning the latest ‘stuff’. Large corporations, of course, have a vested interest in perpetuating this idea – after all their raison d’être is to sell us more things and thus make a profit. This is the reason for fashion – you really don’t look better in this year’s colours than you did in last year’s… however much clothes shops tell you that you do. Similarly, the latest i-phone is completely unnecessary to you because all you ACTUALLY want to do is send e-mails, look at a couple of web sites and make a phone call or two… why on earth you would want to queue up overnight to be the first to obtain the latest model is beyond comprehension.
Are you successful because you have a huge TV, a fast car or the latest video game? Are you happy because you own a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes or a BMW? Even if the act of buying these things gave you instant gratification, do you not find yourself hankering after the next purchase as soon as you have got the first one home? If the answer is yes, then you are being suckered by retailers and manufacturers.
So… what really does make you happy? And what should you be bragging about to your friends? Well, my experience is that I can find happiness in all sorts of places…. on the beach, cuddled up with my sweetie, collecting fresh eggs from my hens, picking herbs in the garden, watching an eclipse or writing my blog. And what do I have to brag about in the way of possessions? Well there are a few…
Our much-repaired solar, wind-up radio… still going strong
The masterpiece (a rare picture of me posing with it)
Our old Dyson vacuum cleaner… with several new components helping to extend its life
A work bag made from yarn left over from another project
My handmade string shopping bags
My repaired antique swift and secondhand wool winder
The Snail of Scrappiness – a gift from a friend (the lovely Kate)
Our twice-repaired Kelly kettle
And I could go on and on… you may be identifying a theme here. All these things have a history and memories associated with them. Every single one of them makes me smile when I look at it. Every one I want to preserve and continue to own for years to come. Every one I want to share with you.
So, what about you? What objects that you own REALLY make you happy? What would you like to brag about?
OK… here are a few more of mine…
The Snail of Happiness 
atkokosplace
/ March 26, 2015Your dog is the cutest being I’ve seen all day!❀
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The Snail of Happiness
/ March 26, 2015She can also be very naughty!
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atkokosplace
/ March 26, 2015I bet! 😉
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katechiconi
/ March 26, 2015My sewing machine and Kenwood Chef. Neither of them are very new or very flashy, but without them my life would be a sadder and duller place! They are enablers to let me create both lovely food and beautiful quilts. And my laptop and camera, without which I couldn’t blog. They’re both nice ones, but were bought to replace others which were terminally broken, so I don’t feel too consumeristic about them. All the rest I can do without. Except the Husband, of course, who should really head the list!
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arlingwoman
/ March 26, 2015Hmm. Certain ceramic bowls, including a very useful, handmade batter bowl; my grandparents kitchen clock, still in use in my home; certain flower vases; the quilt on my bed; the silver my mother’s parents gave her for her wedding, which I use every day (and, yes, polish periodically); the photographs, prints, oils and watercolors on my walls. But much of what makes me happy isn’t actually mine: it’s light, a leaf, a stone, a bird on the wing.
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davidprosser
/ March 26, 2015Oh definitely my computer is first on the list. My contact with the outside world. I doubt I’d survive without my microwave that saves me having to use the oven for just me. And without doubt my old games, Balderdash, Trivial Pursuits, and cards because I get to enjoy my brother’s and nephew’s company one evening a week and enjoy a really good time.
xxx Huge Hugs to you both xxx
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Anne Wheaton
/ March 27, 2015Interesting post. On my blog I take part in a monthly “In My Kitchen” series, which I used to really enjoy but now lots of people just seem to brag about the latest equipment they’ve bought for their kitchen, which bores me stiff.
Which objects make me really happy? Our kitchen table because it was the first thing we bought as a young married couple, my fountain pen because it’s so lovely to write with, the quilt my mother made for me and the baking tins that used to belong to my grandmother because they’re solid and will outlast anything I could buy today. All useful things.
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nanacathy2
/ March 27, 2015Hi, interesting post. I hate shopping so not much bragging about new stuff. I love my camera which is just a small compact thing for taking snaps on but small enough to put in my pocket. I love the town and countryside near me, so write about that. And my boys and grandchildren. And some of the things I make! And now I feel quite the braggart! We all need to feel proud of something I guess, it helps validate us as individuals!
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anne54
/ March 27, 2015What a lovely post. I loved seeing the Masterpiece finished. It looks sensational.
I have lots of things around me that I love, and I have them because I love them and the fit my life so well — my very comfy red leather chair, a beautiful sideboard, my books, things like jewellery that have been given to me by special people. One of my treasured things is a quilt made for me by a parent at the school where I taught. I was on sick leave, going through treatment for breast cancer. While Beth and her kids had made it, she had all the kids at school give it a hug. So it came to me full of hugs and warm wishes.
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insearchofitall
/ March 27, 2015You have quite a lot to brag about there. 🙂 Life is good when your values are properly placed. When someone comes in my door, I show them the hand work my mother and I did, my quilts, photos of family and my walls of books. I’m a lending library and I’m happy to borrow too. I have antique tea cups that were collected by my last mother-in-law but the china cabinet holds craft supplies. If you bring a child by with you, there will be coloring tools.
I buy what I need to do a job. If the job is being done, I need nothing. The marketing tactics are so extreme that it’s almost a form of hypnosis. I’ve stopped buying clothes. One outfit a year at Christmas but I can wear it all winter, You are correct about the need to fill those holes in us with stuff. I’m glad to see you are enjoying a simpler life. Creating with your own hands feeds the soul better than anything. Loved seeing all your wonderful things. The quilt you knit is outstanding.
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gentlestitches
/ March 28, 2015I loved that your quilt is one of your favorites! I am getting rid of stuff, not acquiring. I rather love my old dishwasher very much.
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katythenightowl
/ March 30, 2015Some good friends told me some time ago that the clue to a happy life, is to make it a simple life, and I can see that you’ve got your’s down to a fine art 🙂
Like you, I can’t see the point of this modern need to have the latest of whatever is ‘it’ at the moment, and can honestly say that, when I was a relatively new wife, my height of achievement was learning how to turn a collar in my husband’s shirt, rather than throw it away! Lol
Nowadays, we’re just grateful that the things we bought many years ago, although expensive at the time, are still working well for us – including our first and – so far – only Dyson!
I love that your favourite things are those that are made with love, from those you care about – that’s what is so much more precious to me than any kind of riches 🙂
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Lori Fontanes
/ March 30, 2015Love that dog-shaped mail holder! 😉 And great post–so true, so rare, so important!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ March 30, 2015Sadly she’s also a mail shredder if you don’t get to her in time!!
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