Nuns fret not at their convent’s narrow room
And hermits are contented with their cells;
And students with their pensive citadels;
Maids at the wheel, the weaver at his loom,
Sit blithe and happy; bees that soar for bloom,
High as the highest Peak of Furness-fells,
Will murmur by the hour in foxglove bells:
In truth the prison, into which we doom
Ourselves, no prison is: and hence for me,
In sundry moods, ’twas pastime to be bound
Within the Sonnet’s scanty plot of ground;
Pleased if some Souls (for such there needs must be)
Who have felt the weight of too much liberty,
Should find brief solace there, as I have found.
– from Nuns Fret Not at their Convent’s Narrow Room, Wordsworth
Guest Post by Jennifer from Life From The Roof
In our neck of the woods, there are lots
of bars over the windows and doors. Despite how elaborate the design,
the overall effect is still a bit disheartening, as it is aesthetically
a distraction, and psychologically it’s a reminder that there are
reasons roaming the streets at night that require those bars to be
there in the first place.
We live on the third floor, however, and
for awhile we were able to enjoy the prettier views and bar-free
existence that this height enables. That is, until our little guy Eli
became a bigger guy who was capable of climbing out of those windows.
We racked our brains for solutions. Our
windows are fairly large, and are only 18 inches off the ground (the
building we live in is around 100 years old), and as I researched
options, I was discouraged to find that if I wanted something really
secure, it would cost upwards of $200 a window, and we had two windows
to secure.
Safety of course, matters, and no matter
how frugal you are, it’s not something you want to compromise when your
child’s well-being is at stake. So I braced myself to somehow find a
way to scrape the money together on our limited budget.
Then one day, as I was taking out the
trash, I took another look at an old abandoned black metal headboard
and footboard that had been sitting there for at least a couple of
months. They were about 3 feet tall, and just wide enough that they
looked like they might fit our windows. I went upstairs and after my
husband measured them, lo and behold, they would fit! They even had
holes drilled in them for the bed rails that would make securing them
to our windows easy.
Only, they were still black and ugly. I
thought about it for a minute, and then remembered an extra set of
sheer white curtains I had purchased awhile back but had never got
around to using. An hour or two later, I had come up with sheer white
sleeves to ruffle over the bars, and voila, window gates that not only
kept our little critter in, but also allowed light to pour in and
shield our view of the next door building’s roof.
“They say that God is in the details, but
maybe He’s in the dumpsters, too,” my husband commented wryly as we
finished up our project.
It’s easy at times to feel like we’re
limited or lacking in our ability to “live” because we have less money,
but I’ve observed over time, in my own life as well as in the lives of
others, that often we are at our most creative when we are provided
with limitations and boundaries. As T.S. Eliot once wrote:
“When forced to work within a strict framework the imagination is taxed to its utmost – and will produce its richest ideas. Given total freedom the work is likely to sprawl.”
Sprawl…yes, that is what I feel like at times when I’m faced with too many choices. My mind becomes cluttered with options instead of solutions, because I have to waste so much time considering the many choices.
When I was working in Uzbekistan, an Uzbek friend of mine had the opportunity to visit the US for six months. When she returned, I asked her what she thought of America.
“America…they have too many cheeses,” she replied.
“Too many cheeses?” I asked, not quite clear on what she meant.
“Yes…so many choices, and why do you need so many cheeses in the first place?” she asked.
I understood later when I returned for the first time to the US after my initial 2 years in Uzbekistan. I went into Wal-Mart to buy shampoo, and ended up just standing there for a few minutes staring at an entire aisle of shampoo.
I was so overwhelmed, I ended up just turning around and walking out without buying anything. While it was hard at times to be deprived of access to certain products in Uzbekistan, I now understood what Wordsworth commented on in his poem Nuns Fret Not at their Convent’s Narrow Room. Instead of being limited by what we cannot buy, perhaps sometimes we should look at having too many liberties as a weight, and at our limitations as true freedom.
Jennifer Duenes is a homemaker, wife to Michael, and proud
mother to one-year old Elijah. She lives in the San Francisco Bay
Area, and despite living on one income with the high costs of living
associated with that area, she enjoys finding creative ways to save
money and thrive. She attributes part of her ability to save and
appreciate the important things in life to her experiences as a teacher
in a poor region of Uzbekistan for five years before getting married.
For more on her insights from life in Uzbekistan and tips on making the
most of your resources in high-cost urban areas, check out her blog at www.lifefromtheroof.wordpress.
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Honey says
Check your inbox for $5/$30 coupon for CVS! It’s good Thur/Fri/Sat.
Belle says
Love this post!
Lori says
I just love your blog! You are doing a tremendous job. I have learned so much in the short time I’ve been reading your blog. You are helping a lot of people and I for one thank you for it. Have a happy Thanksgiving!
Lori says
I just love your blog! I have learned so much in just the short time I’ve been reading it. Thank you for the time and effort you put into it. You are helping a lot of people. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Frugalchick says
What a beautiful post! When I was a kid, I didn’t have much toys but I don’t remember being bored at all. Now I look at my nieces and nephews surrounded with tons of toys and yet they complain there’s nothing to do.
Rachael says
Beautiful post – it is so true that more choices/options DON’T result in more contenment.
There’s a book about this topic that I’ve been wanting to read – “The Paradox of Choice” by Barry Schwartz
http://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Choice-Why-More-Less/dp/0060005696/ref=wl_itt_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=IISEJMLEO1D15&colid=3FPJUX19Y08TV
Wendy says
After spending several years in Kenya, summers in Zimbabwe and Madagascar, and a semester in Honduras, I can truly say I’m right there beside ya, girl! Every time I have come home from living abroad I have the same overwhelming feeling at the
-mart stores. The concepts that were “taught” to me during those times have helped me to love living simply, to clip coupons, and to be able to buy a home even though I use 50% of my salary for my house note.
I know I see the world through a very different lens that most of America, but that lens has afforded me some awesome opportunities. Thanks for your post. It is inspiring. 🙂
Alisha says
One of the best guest posts I have ever read. Thank you for sharing that. I will take this concept and run with it in my head for a while.
Marketing Mommy says
This post really struck a cord with me. I spent my elementary school years in West Germany and my middle school years in Pakistan. I returned to the U.S. halfway through my 9th grade year and had a panic attack the first time I set foot in a drugstore. I too was completely overwhelmed by the hair care aisle.
The irony is that–after the shock wore off–I became quite enamored with advertising and marketing (how could there be an audience for so many barely-differentiated products?) and found my career.
deb burton says
What a timely post right before Thanksgiving. My favorite lines:
“…often we are at our most creative when we are provided with limitations and boundaries.”
“Instead of being limited by what we cannot buy, perhaps sometimes we should look at having too many liberties as a weight, and at our limitations as true freedom.”
Thanks for sharing!
Taryn says
Beautiful post. I love your application of the Wordsworth quote.
Joy says
Very insightful. Thanks.
Michelle says
I could not agree more – some of my best ideas have come because I needed to find a better solution, not because I wanted to.
Lori says
I so relate to the guest post. We served in Mexico for 3 years. Although the US and Mexico share a border, life is very different there. We have now been back in the US for almost 2 years. I went clothes shopping this past week and entered a VERY LARGE department store at a local mall. Within 20 minutes, I was putting the two things I found back on the rack and was headed out the door. I was overwhelmed. I had to opt for a place that was smaller and had less options. (It was still a little overwhelming.) I am reminded daily that for me, less is better. Thanks again for your reminder, and I am thankful to know that I am not the only one still experiencing reverse culture shock!
Angela says
I understand completely. This is one reason I stay out of super-sized grocery stores. I am overwhelmed with the choices and literally can’t make one. I prefer smaller stores with fewer choices. Another reason Walgreens works for me, while Wal-mart doesn’t. It is freedom to shop from my co-op. Fewer choices equals more time for me–less indecision. I am fortunate that money does not have to be the deciding factor for me…but honestly, I spent a lot more when I shopped at superstores…the choices available can cause one to buy things one normally wouldn’t. By limiting what I buy to ingredients only (we buy very little prepared foods) I can save money, buy from local sources such as CSA farms, and be less stressed.
Carey says
Excellent post! I couldn’t agree more! This is a concept that is new to me, but I now know that true happiness is the freedom from too much stuff! I’ve never had less, and I’ve never been happier.
Ann says
This is wonderful — it reminds me of how the frugal life–however challenging at times–allows one to see how much beauty there is in the world given to us, when one stops endlessly wanting more material things.