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Gratitude, perspective shifts, and afterschool programs

On a previous life track (before kids, and with full time professional employment) I would shop. a lot. For baubles and clothing and life embellishments... and more food than I needed. Wasteful to be certain.

With the current austerity program initiated with the birth of our son and my work taken to part time, and most recently the recent gentle belt tightening of hubby being between jobs, my cravings for "more" have greatly dissipated. Perhaps the yoga practice helped hone the skill and tune in to non-grasping, but admittedly the reality of avoiding debt and waste played a big part. Truthfully don't want an overstocked refrigerator (to clean or to organize). I don't want more clothes to put away or things to dust on shelves, or collectibles about which Ill just forget.

Having mindfully "not-shopped" for a bit, we found ourselves positioned to utilize funds (that would otherwise be squandered on a few dinners out and theater movies and maybe some more pricey meats at the market) to sending our son to the most amazing after school programs. He'll be participating in Spanish lessons, art lessons, Kung Fu classes and learning to write computer code. With these programs he'll make more friends get exercise and expand his learning day by the exact increment of time I needed between the end of my work day and picking him up. The drop in after-school program was $35 a day or required prepayment for 3 or 5 days a week of which we would have used an hour per day. These programs cost between $9 and $16 per class and are worth every penny. Thank you universe for manifesting this. I am deriving so much more pleasure (than a pair of earrings or bag of candy or random catalog item i didn't really need) this way. #lessismore #gratitude #afterschoolenrichments #asteya

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