I am in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes and good thrifting.
Would I be able to go in a thrift store with my oldest daughter while she shopped and NOT buy anything?
Please don’t let there be a short black leather coat that comes to my waist with a fitted bodice.
The temptation might be too great.
I looked in the woman’s black leather coat section and did not find a short black leather coat that said, “I have attitude and a fitted waist line, you need me.”
I had escaped temptation until:
I saw a black and white coat hanging on the rack. A black and white striped Zebra Coat by Robert Louis, with a belt and a purple lining, for $14.99.
The coat was calling out to me. Take me home Mrs. Hodges. Take me home to Pennsylvania. You need me. I am the answer to contentment. If you wear me you will feel content and beautiful. You need me. For only $14.99 you will be content. And you get 40% off because you are a senior now.
I tried on the coat and looked at myself in the mirror. I need you. You bring me joy. I need you to feel content. And it is 40% off today.
Do you need a Zebra Coat to feel content?
Do you wake up in the morning and think, “If only I had a Zebra Coat I would feel content”? Or maybe you think, “If only I lost five pounds I would feel content.” Or, maybe you wish you had a new pair of socks or granite counter tops instead of formica counter tops.
Does your feeling of contentment come from outside of yourself?
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. ― Socrates
Oh dear, I know Socrates is right. If I can not be content with the clothes I have in my closet right now, I will not be content with the black and white stripped Zebra Coat.
But maybe Socrates has never seen the coat I wanted to buy. Is there an exception clause to the quote on contentment by Socrates?
He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have, unless it is a black and white striped Zebra Coat. ― Socrates
Disclamier: Italics are added by me and are not what the wise man Socrates actually said.
I didn’t buy the coat.
I promised I wouldn’t buy any clothes for 365 days starting on May 1st, 2013.
I had already used my one save on a pair of sweat pants on day 203. Today is day 253. I only have 102 days left to not buy any clothes.
A promise is a promise, even in the face of a black and white Zebra Striped Coat.
A man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy.
―Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Cancer Ward
I choose to be happy.
I don’t need the coat to be content. I don’t need to lose five pounds to be content. I don’t need granite counter tops or a new pair of socks to feel content.
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. — Deuteronomy 31:6
God will never leave me nor forsake me. Who really needs another coat when the Lord God goes with me.
What about you? Do you need a black and white zebra coat to feel content?
I would love to talk to you. Please comment if you would like to chat.
