Everything I need to know, I learned from Simple Abundance...(and Oprah, but that is another story)

My tryst with the "Pink book" began 9 or so years ago. My mother frequently mentioned this amazing book in our numerous conversations, so much so that it piqued my interest. My mother had given me a copy of the follow up book "Something more" by the same author. It was lovely, but escaped my full understanding; it was rather like feeding steak to a baby, I could appreciate the flavor, but there was no way I could digest fully what she was saying in that book. I was on an extremely strict budget at the time, so buying Simple abundance was out of the question, but each time I was at a garage sale, I looked for it. One day I found a book with "Simple abundance" in the title. I was so excited; I bought it for a quarter. I got it home and called my Mom. She asked if the book was pink, I told her it was more of reddish brown. She thought it must be a newer edition than hers. I put it on the shelf, and then didn't think of it again for a while. Nearly a year later, I was looking for something to read, and remembered my little treasure. I got settled in on the couch, opened it up and that was when I noticed that the full title of the book was "A Man's journey to Simple Abundance". Yuck. I really didn't care to take that journey for myself. I offered it to my husband, he declined (he doesn’t read anything other than magazines and children’s stories). So off it went to the good will.


Fast forward to the early part of 2003. My husband, children and I were living with my Father in Illinois because my husbands company had closed our Boise location, and it was either move out of state, or be out of a job, so we moved to Illinois. Everything about the place was difficult. From the journey to our new home(took 4+ days instead of 3), to registering our car(took 6 months, and lots, and lots of red tape and the use of a cash advance location for help titling it), to getting my oldest enrolled in school(he got kicked out after just one week for not having an immunization that was not required in Idaho), to grocery shopping (grocery stores here were ridiculously expensive, and the one that we could afford was rather like a trip to see the soup Nazi, have your cash ready, load your own cart, and move along!). It seemed as though the Universe had forgotten us, and God wasn't listening. I fell into a deep depression that lasted the winter. Illinois seemed like a black hole that sucked our resources and lives dry. I resented our circumstances, I detested the living arrangements, and we were all very miserable. I went out daily with a realtor looking for a home that our meager income could afford, but to no avail. In April, I went to our library and wandered through the aisles looking for anything that looked the slightest bit interesting. I found a fun book on auras, and a cheery pink book, which much to my delight turned out to be the correct Simple Abundance book. I was able to borrow it for a month, and read as much as I could in that time. The meditation for January 14th in the book hit me like a ton of bricks. The quote that preceded the day by Melody Beattie goes like this:

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

I realized in that moment that Gratitude was what was missing from my life. It was an answer to my prayers. I started my Gratitude Journal that day and at first it was difficult for me to find even 2 or 3 things each day in which to be thankful, but within a few weeks I was hard pressed to stop at 15 or 20. At the time I was a member of "The Church" and even gave a talk on Simple Abundance and how gratitude had changed my life. Within just a few weeks of starting the Gratitude Journal my circumstances changed, or maybe just my attitude, but we were able to find a house that had more than 2 bedrooms and was within our price range(no small feat since we had been looking for 8 months). My husband even surprised me with an early Birthday gift of the beloved book.

Since that time, I have given many copies of the book away. I, like Victoria, have given simple abundance gift baskets, and included items that could go in a comfort drawer (if you aren't familiar, you will know what I am talking about when you get to it). I have also read this treasure every year since. I am somewhat of a purist, and will read the book as though it is my first time each January. I don't start my gratitude Journal until the 14th of January or my Illustrated Discovery Journal until I am instructed to do so. For me it makes the experience all the sweeter. I don’t always read every day, and sometimes even months slip by when I skip, but I always go back and finish, even if it is as I simultaneously start a new year.

It should also be noted that when I started this journey I was to say the least, a very shabby dresser. It took me many years on the journey to find the clothes that truly speak to me (and now I find them so often, I have to restrain myself). My hair was also a wretched mess, but I now have a cut and color I absolutely love. And that too took a few years of really pulling back the layers of who I am deep down. This year already, I have discovered a long lost love of art, and creating. And I look forward to wherever the path takes me this time around.