Last weekend I had a chance to get a pedicure. It had been a really long time since I’d last had one so I made sure to relax and really take in the experience. It also gave me time to reflect a bit.
I started thinking about a time in my life, while I was a waitress/bartender, that I got pedicures monthly, sometimes bi-monthly. After paying for groceries, rent and utilities each month, I always managed to have a little something left over to pamper myself. And so, pedicures it was!
But more importantly, I always made sure I could give the nail technicians an ample tip. Working in the food services industry, I knew what it was like to depend on tips as income. I knew how much I appreciated a nice tip and it made me smile inside knowing I could give someone else that same feeling.
Fast forward 4 years later and I cannot remember the last time I went out of my way to give someone a nice tip. Don’t get my wrong, I always tip. But, tipping more than what is standard as a sign of appreciation wasn’t something I had done in a long time. This got me thinking even more.
How ironic is it that now, when I am much more financially stable than I was in my college days, that I am less of a giver? How is it that God has consistently provided me with more and I have decided to give back less?
I’ve had a craving for simplicity ever since that pedicure. I want to live a simple life with a simple income and give back in simple ways. I want to work a simple job and purchase simple things. I want to go back to a place when I not only lived a simple life, but I had a simple heart. There was no question of giving to others, even if I only had a simple income. Life was simple and so was giving.
I’ll keep you posted on my road to simplicity. I can’t wait to see where it takes us.
☼ ap
I have motivational quotes sent to my email each morning. Some of them are super inspiring and others are just okay. Today I think I found my new favorite.