Aging with Grace

Satiety depends not at all on how much we eat, but on how we eat. It’s the same with happiness, the very same…happiness doesn’t depend on how many external blessings we have snatched from life. It depends only on our attitude toward them. There’s a saying about it in Taoist ethic: “Whoever is capable of contentment will always be satisfied.”

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

This photo was taken by my son on a trip our family took to Puerto Vallarta. As I looked through my photos, I was struck by how this image portrayed pure happiness. Arms open, ready to capture the moment. Nothing else needed or desired in that place in time.

Not surprisingly, for an avid reader and a writer, I appreciate words. I recently ran across the word, satiety. Not something we often hear, but meaningful. Merriam-Webster defines it as: the quality of being fed or gratified to or beyond capacity. Reading the quote by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn but it in perspective. When is enough, enough? 

I believe it’s something many of us struggle with. I was reading that the average apartment in Paris is from 150 to 300 square feet. Consequently, Parisians are very selective about what they put in their home. They end up with an edited version of what they truly want and need. Decluttering and organizing what we have has become very popular. We are beginning to recognize more does not always mean better. Sometimes it’s just means more.