Giving thanks and working on contentment
November 22, 2004 I was chatting with a friend earlier and we got to briefly
discussing levels of satisfaction (or lack thereof) with things that
work, but don't happen to be cool anymore. Hmmm...This leads to several
thoughts:
It's perhaps overquoted, but not realized enough:
Happiness lies not in having what you want, but rather in wanting what
you have. We need to appreciate all that we are fortunate enough to
have. No need to rush out (especially in this American season of Holiday Shopping Frenzy) and buy the latest junk ...if it's not needed.
That gets me to thinking that the environment - and our pocketbooks
- would be much better off if we would keep our current cars running
well, rather than going into debt to buy a new car. OK, I'll admit I'm
quite fortunate that my car is paid for, is running well, and has only
very minor body scars after 7 years. So it's easy for me to talk. But
I'm thinking I will see how long I can keep this baby humming. It's a
LOT cheaper to pay some bucks every once in a while for maintenance, vs
forking over the monthly payment for a new vehicle. I hereby publicly
pledge that when the day comes that my car dies beyond repair, I will
only buy a hybrid or better....meaning no SUV or other gas-guzzler. The ideal to me would be one of these. Their web site
...we saw a lot of these around Paris a few years ago and they are
awesome ...and quite safe, actually. Why the heck do folks think they
need to drive around in a Hummer? What are they compensating for? :)
Joy
Reader Comments (3)
Saw a statistic in one of the 'Peak Oil' books I've read, that pretty conclusively proves that buying a new car (even one more energy-efficient than your current car) consumes far more Earth resources than keeping your existing car running.