I love a well made bed……crisp, smooth sheets, a warm blanket
and a pretty bedspread and I am a serene Sleeping Beauty!
We recently moved to a new home and the first room we
painted and finished was our bedroom.
How nice to have at least one room that is complete and relaxing to go
to while the rest of the house is in chaos.
I finished off the decorating with new sheets, blanket and
spread for the bed in matching tones. I
was pleased with the finished effect and content with my choices until………..
One day I logged on to Facebook and scrolled down my
newsfeed. Fun and interesting comments
from friends. Photos of new babies and
kittens. Recipes and news from around
the world.
And an ad for sheets……….
“Luxurious Egyptian cotton sheets,” it said, “1000 thread
count.”
What? 1000
threads? How is that possible? I thought mine were pretty amazing at 500
threads. Now you mean I could have got
1000 thread sheets? Why did I not
know? How can this be?
I am kidding of course.
I no more want 1000 thread sheets than I want gold thread embroidery on
the pillow cases but the ad gave me a moment of reflection.
A few years ago I don’t think I knew anything about what is
now called “thread count” for sheets. I
just bought sheets because they were the right size and I liked the color. Then I became aware……..there were sheets with
a 200 thread count. No, wait, I could
get 300 and 400 and 500 and even 600 count ones. More must be better right?
I must admit, I could tell the difference between 200 and
400 thread count sheets but above that…….not so much. They all felt pretty good to me. So is it really necessary to have 1000 thread
sheets?
Then I realized that sometimes I can get into “thread
counting” my own life. If I need
something and I am fortunate enough to get it, will more of it make me
happy? If I eat one square of chocolate
and it gives me a good feeling, will I feel ecstatic if I eat the whole
bar? Will one new dress do the trick or
must I have three?
Of course, the ultimate issue for thinking this way is
around money. More is always better
right? It will make me happy. It will bring me peace. It will solve all my problems. Well…….maybe.
There is no doubt that having enough money does bring peace of mind but observing the
drama-filled lives of the rich and famous illustrates that more doesn’t always
bring happiness.
Counting the threads in my life gets me deep into the
details of what I don’t have which leads me to obsession and, ultimately,
depression. It obscures the bigger
picture and gives me a false impression of how my life really is. I begin to see only what I don’t have and
move away from appreciating what I have.
Years ago I was introduced to the concept of gratitude, of
looking around in the moment to find things in my life to be grateful for. At first, I thought this was an impossible
task. At the time my life was a mess and
I was miserable. I didn’t think I had
anything to be grateful for. I was
counting threads and there weren’t very many.
I was, I thought, only living a 10 thread count life.
Then I learned that I could be grateful for the things I had
in life that I had always taken for granted.
Things like the clothes on my back, the food in my fridge, the flowers
outside and the sun or even the rain. I
could begin with whatever was in front of me……my morning cup of tea, birds
singing outside, a quiet moment to myself before the start of a busy day and
build on the list as I went along.
Being grateful for these everyday blessings is truly the way
to count the threads of my life. In
doing this I discover that I have many wonderful, even golden, threads that
make up each day. New people, new
experiences, new ideas and realizations can all be added to my gratitude list
as well as appreciation for what I already have.
I don’t need more and more of anything to make me happy and
I certainly don’t need 1000 thread sheets,………my 500 count ones will do
nicely.
Now all that remains is to convince myself that this theory
applies to shoes…………
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