Financial Serenity

Have you read the book, Simple Abundance – A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach? It is a daily journal filled with beautiful words of inspiration and encouragement. My book has highlighting throughout; so many of the entries feel like they were written just for me and always arrive just when I need them most. Although the book was written in 1995, it’s still just as relevant today (and you can find copies at thrift stores for next to nothing).

The contents of the book focus on the “six threads of abundant living: gratitude, simplicity, order, harmony, beauty, and joy.” The daily readings offer insight and wisdom to guide the reader toward an abundant life based on those premises. This may sound grandiose but I’m telling you, the book changed my life.

There was a time, many years ago, when I struggled financially. To say those years were lean would be an understatement. I didn’t have a home, a job, a car, and my children and I travelled by bicycle. I was on food stamps and living in a friend’s basement, awaiting a divorce settlement and adequate employment. There were times I mailed a check on Thursday, knowing I would get paid on Friday, and the check wouldn’t get to the bank until Monday. Suffice it to say, I’m glad those days are far behind us.

During that time, I was given a copy of Simple Abundance. The book became my North star during a period in my life that was extremely difficult. The author encouraged keeping a “gratitude journal,” a tradition that continues to this day. I discovered the mantra, “This too, shall pass.” I learned the difference between a job, a career, and a calling. There are lessons on every page.

My most treasured pearl of wisdom from the book was the idea of striving for “financial serenity, not financial security.” During those lean years, I had neither. Over time, I was able to re-establish my life and provide for my children. Even then, the concept of financial serenity seemed like a pipedream. Now that I’m older and wiser, I realize it’s the other way around. Can anyone ever really achieve financial security?

Focusing on financial serenity brings peace and tranquility to my life. Rather than how much or how little one possesses; the premise is to be grateful and appreciative for what is. I wish I could say I practice this concept all day, every day, but I can’t. It is definitely a work in progress some 40 years in the making. What I can tell you is that it works. Case in point…I’ve been wanting to create a Zen Garden since I moved into my home 7 years ago. However, it seemed like such an extravagant expense. Yesterday, at the encouragement of a friend, I bought 6 tons of gravel and hired 3 gentlemen to help create my sacred space. Please know I am not one to impulsively do anything, much less spend $841.26 on rocks. That said, I’ve wanted this for years (and I think my friend got tired of hearing me procrastinate 😊). I spent the money on Saturday, and on Sunday, I walked to my mailbox to collect the week’s treasure trove of advertisements and junk mail. And there, in the mailbox, was my first check for teaching this quarter…$894.11. Coincidence? I think not!