Few months ago I purchased a small tub of white truffle butter from a French man who was offering samples from his booth at the Marin Farmer's Market. At $10 for 3 ounces it was expensive, at least for my budget. But the French man was very charming and the sample was quite good so I took it home, threw it in the freezer and over the course of the last several weeks, dipped in here and there to add just a hint of that wild, delightful, truffle magic to all sorts of dishes.
A little goes a long way and that, my friends, is your good news for today.
My small tub of butter is not even half way empty and already it's been put to numerous uses. I've rubbed a little beneath the skin of bone-in chicken breasts before roasting, tossed a spoonful with pasta and parmesan cheese, basted it on a sunny side up egg served over a piece of crusty toast which soaked up all the truffle-y juices.
No way I can afford to buy a whole truffle and partake in the ritual of shaving it over a plate of fresh pasta. And as intriguing as that sounds to me, the truth is, my truffle butter experience is enough. It's plenty. Knowing that, knowing how much is enough, is the kind of wisdom I'm interested in these days, whether it's a dab of butter or the square footage of my home or the size of my bank account.
In the scheme of things, truffle butter is a pretty odd example for austerity but I chose it because it shows that luxury is not so much a what but more of a how: how something is used and also how it is perceived and appreciated.
My point is, doing with less isn't always so bad. In fact, the a-little-goes-a-long-way lifestyle is actually quite liberating. Finding a deep satisfaction in what's right there in front of you, appreciating the moment-by-moment gifts of the day (slant of the autumn sun, a good cup of coffee, a pile of persimmons at the farmer's market) can go a long way toward alleviating gnawing desire, anxiety and sense of lack. Some times the simplest things, when fully acknowledged, are the most satisfying: they are our true treasure and they are bountiful.
May the ever evolving answer to the "what is enough" question always be so close at hand. I wish often that I remembered that what I have is enough, and that often times even a bit extra. Perhaps I would be a bit more generous.
Thanks for sparking my mind yet again :)
HUGS
view Daigan's profile
Dana you are a breath of fresh air in a world that is sorely in need of this kind of wisdom.
view berkeleypear's profile
elegance is refusal, enough is a feast, and this wisdom today are encouraging. we forget this is how much of the world lives, and most of it lived in earlier times. the note about generosity, above, is marvelous.
along these lines, not be be prosaic about it but since we approach thanksgiving, upromise and couponmom enable one to shop online while benefitting a college fund for any child and use coupons to buy foods you can donate to your food bank. perhaps abundance is at hand.
view avianmission's profile
This weekend provided a truly peaceful moment for my boyfriend and I right along these lines. When I bought my home, it came with a slew of mismatched, used appliances. I was blessed enough by friends and coworkers to receive used upgrades: a new-to-me fridge, washer, dryer, and stove. For three years the appliances I switched out have sat in my garage, taking up valuable work space. Life threw a bunch of curveballs at me and all of my intentions to sell those items were swept aside.
When my boyfriend moved in with me, we talked about turning the garage into a studio for his drums. But there was no space. And it became a struggle of questions such as: "how can we sell the dryer if we're not positive it still works well? what if something's gone bad sitting for so long? what would I ask for it?" and on and on, until more time passed with us neither selling the items or getting rid of them.
Finally, this past weekend I put a post on craigslist stating that I wasn't sure that everything worked 100%, but all items were free for the taking. As my boyfriend and I woke up early and began hauling all of the items out to the curb it felt so liberating. And we found even more items to set out as we dug deeper into the chaotic garage. Throughout the day people would drive by, see the "free" signs, stop, look and sometimes grab something for themselves. It felt pretty great catching these moments out the window. My boyfriend and I both felt that while yes, there was probably a couple hundred bucks worth of goods sitting outside, having them go to people that need them with no strings attached, and us not having to load them and haul them anywhere ourselves, was payment enough. We let go of the "but we could be making money off of this!" mentality that we're so conditioned to have, and just enjoyed giving. Definitely refreshing.
view RedEngine88's profile