Thursday, July 24, 2014

Collect Moments Not Things

As a kid, I had one money-making scheme after another. I roped my brother into fashioning crap out of tissues (ghosts were the best option; I don't even want to remember what other "artsy" things we came up with), then we knocked on our neighbors' doors and presented our shoebox full of tissue treasures, along with a price list.

You could walk away the proud owner of a ball of tissue with another tissue wrapped around it and ghost eyes drawn on the face for the low price of 25 cents plus 15 cents tax. And this was back in the 80's so considering inflation, that ghost would cost about $5 today (don't check my math).

Collect Moments, Not Things
Collect moments, not things. Particularly if you live in a tiny Parisian apartment like mine.

I was a budding entrepreneur with a horrible idea. I don't think I sold a single tissue. I sure hope I didn't.

What's funny is I never wanted to spend my money, so I don't know why I worked so hard to get it. I'm still that way to this day. I've never been big on having things around my house, partly because I'm a neat freak and partly because I move every five minutes and constantly have to whittle my stuff down. In my tiny apartment, I just don't have room for much.

The one exception where I like to spend my money is travel. (OK, if I'm honest two - drinks). Over the years I've visited 35 countries on 4 continents. Things have slowed down since I had kids (though stay tuned for our trip to Belgium!) but I still focus on the same thing - collecting moments, not things.

Walking through a spice market. Listening to the morning call to prayer. Eating churros and chocolate minus the churros (so, just drinking a big cup of melted chocolate). Getting splashed in the face as I give my rambunctious son a bath. Gazing into my daughter's eyes as she smiles her big, goofy smile for the first time. These are some pretty good moments to remember.

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Life's short. Laugh more. Buy my books at Amazon.com.

Vicki Lesage, Author