The other day, I was speed scrolling through the miasma of Facebook and came upon an RV Camping post touting the awesomeness of a dollar store plastic tri-pot holder…purchased as a camping tool.

Now lots of people were saying great idea…awesome…and other such platitudes. All I could think was, really??? Does anyone actually think anymore, or are we all so in need of a momentary fix of shopping that we can really see this as a good idea?

When I posted an alternate view, I was met with angry emojis and told I just wanted to argue. Ok, I did suggest that there would be no place to set this bulky “campfire tray”. That it would be on the ground with the ants or they’d need to pull out a coffee table. I did add a wink and smile emoji …but maybe it came off as divisive. Lol

I immediately made a second post to clarify. I asked if they really wanted to wash extra bulky items, to store them in already tight and frustrating cabinets and then, when momentarily saddened by the waste of money, they decide not to bring the cracked, unused wonder-find home to recycle …and toss them in the dumpster instead.

All too often, I ask myself how camping became consumerism. How being outside isn’t the reward itself. How we need a fix of purchase of goods or campers bigger than most homes. How campers just became a reason to buy more stuff.

Now, I’m guilty of decorating my camper. I have made pillows, painted my camping map art and bought some gear that turned out to be superfluous but I really do try to take a moment and feel if an item will add to the experience or become clutter frustration. Maybe it comes from our decades of tent camping or maybe it’s age. I don’t know.

What I do know is that our happiness is in the simple things. Really, it’s just the beauty of the woods we find ourselves in, the joy of the locals sharing their love of place and a big comfy bed, fridge and Hvac! Lol

I love going into our camper with its colors, art and conveniences but I also love sitting outside with our dog before my Hub awakens…wrapped in a blanket with a hot mug of tea and a big fire in full roll. I love the smell of salt air or mist or first light rain. I love the quality of light just before the sun breaks over the horizon and just after. I love shooting stars and planetary alignments.

These are the things that fill my soul with joy and gratitude.

Some days, I think it will take a full breakdown or breakaway from ALL patterning to get us to see what is truly important. But… if the year of isolation didn’t do it, what will? How much deeper do we need to break it all up? Sometimes I see where our current path is leading us and I wonder if anyone else is registering this. Are we ready for what we have created??? If FB is my barometer, it’s not going to be an easy slide into home. Until then, I’ll just have to sort the cabinets for things unused and then get back in nature to determine my own path.

May you all find the things most important to you and stand as a golden examples of finding happiness in simpler things. Maybe through example we can light the light of embodying calm and joy in this all to often misled world.

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