Wonderful Things

This morning I got up early and got over to the mall to see what I could save money on from the sale racks. People were squeezing into Gottschalk's, and a steady stream of people with huge packages were coming out of Sears. As I walked into Shopko, I ran into my friend Joyce. Wide-eyed, she grabbed my arm. "You've got to get over to Joann Fabrics. They have material for 99 cents that is usually $4.99!"
Caught up in her excitement, I moved on through the store, determined to get over there after I'd "cleaned up" at Shopko. All around me I could hear people remarking about how wonderful the after Thanksgiving sale prices were. "Three for two dollars!" "It's buy one, get one free!" "Hey, these are only $14.99!"
My excitement grew. I began reeling through aisles, looking for all those wonderful things I was sure I needed to have. How about these sale towels? I suppose I could use a few more. But what about a bread machine? They're only $49. Wow! And look at all this stuff for Christmas stockings here! I started dropping things into my cart at an amazing speed. Socks, Christmas decorations, facial products, linens, picture frames. And somewhere over in the school supply section I finally woke up. I really didn't need all those things. They were nice, useful items that would be pleasant to own. But I truly didn't need 90% of what was in my cart.
My goal in life of late has been to live simply and well within my means. And here I was with all this unnecessary stuff. So I meandered back the way I had come, putting things back on shelves and smiling to myself at all the money I would save by doing that.
The world is full of wonderful things, but what do I actually need? Not nearly as much as the advertisers or frenzied shopping crowds think. So I left the store with my trouser socks as happily as if I'd won a door prize--and that was priceless.