Simple and Slow Fridays: Wants and Needs

Excerpts from this week's chapter, Wants and Needs, in Mitten Strings for God:

... We know full well that our children are not yet able to distinguish wants from needs. This is why they are such easy prey for advertisers: children want what they see, and the media is one long enticement-to buy, to have, to get.

But many of us are just as confused as our children. We fail to distinguish real needs from wants, and we focus on what we don't have rather than on the abundant gifts that are already ours. When we are consumers, we teach our children that it is good to consume. When we try to resolve conflicts or to buy happiness by spending money, we teach our children to look outside themselves when they feel needy...

... when we pause long enough to give thanks for the abundance of daily life, when we feel good about what we have right now, we teach our children a valuable lesson: We help them accept that they can't have everything they want, and we reassure them that they do have everything they need. (pg. 65-66)

I have two thoughts for posting ideas this next week:

1) Post about the abundance of your daily life, how you are happy with where you are and realize that you have everything you need.

and/or

2) Post about how you have already dealt with or plan to deal with "wants and needs" in raising your children - maybe even some suggestions for us young mothers! :)


**Please don't make this into a rant against consumerism. I'd like to keep this positive, please... and thank you.** :)


Next Friday I'll have my post up about Wants and Needs with Mr. Linky at the bottom for you to include your posts. (If you are looking for today's Mr. Linky on Secret Places, click here.)