View Full Version : Who are the people?
Who have inspired you and why? As far as how you live, what you like to do, philosophy on life, etc. I am always interested to hear stories. Will post my own shortly. :D
Oh boy... where to start.
My mom, is my biggest inspiration for me to be the best that I can be. When I was little, we were poor, yet mom always had a way of turning-out healthy meals, even when the cupboards were empty, and she never failed to inspire us kids to never get down on life. When tough times fell on us kids (trials/tribulations of life), mom was always there for us, supporting us, cheering us on, and lending an open ear for whatever we wanted to air (and however we wanted to air-it)! LMAO!
She also knew how to do everything! Yes, I'm serious, she knew a little about everything, so whatever us kids wanted or needed to know, we needn't look farther than mom for an answer! And for the occasions she may not have known about something or another, she took the time to find out for us!
Mom was strict (but fair), and foolish we were (yes we were), if we thought (for a minute) that we could pull a little wool over moms head! And yes, we tried! Oh how we tried!!! LOL! But, in that department it was always a no go, for mom was always two or three steps ahead of us. It took a while, but eventually us kids learned there was no fooling mom, but slow learners we were! ROTFLMAO!!!
My mom (like myself) was as resourceful and frugal as you could ever imagine (still is), using things right to the end before replacing, and finding ways of substituting certain things for other things. She was forever doing that, and mom never allowed anyone to get in her way. If she had her heart set on doing something, she did it, and did it with pride, to heck with what others thought!
And she tirelessly taught us and guided us to live the right way. "Don't harm others", "be respectful and considerate", etc.
Yep, my mom (to this day), is why I am the way I am, and the reason for who I am.
P.S. Love this thread, MamM!
Was just thinking of, steadfast simplicity/frugality, and how the steadfast and dedicated approach, never fails to inspire me!
Aside from my mom, my oldest sister also helped shape and inspire me (looked up to her when I was little), as did my SIL (my best friend), several aunts, and countless mothers I babysat for. Learned a TON from babysitting! Babysitting, should be a mandatory prerequisite to motherhood!
I believe those (like myself) who live, eat, and sleep, frugality and simplicity, tend to embrace and preserve a healthy dose of earlier/past experiences, because it's what interested us when we were younger, and as with time-honoured richness (teachings, practices, etc), true honest-to-goodness SL/frugal practitioners (like me, LOL), know what a goldmine we sit on Re: lost knowledge/methods/ways, and being able to carry-forth that richness and successfully apply it to ones very own starting future, is truly a blessing. So invaluable when it comes to getting a head-start!
It really allows you to excel further and faster past your counterparts. Like skipping a grade (or two) in school, it sets you up for success right from the very get-go!
Would really love to hear from others, too, Re:
Come on everybody! :)
My dad.
Not my mom - she spent all her time cleaning and rarely laughed and played with us. (I do give her bonus points for her apology during my college years).
My dad took me everywhere, taught me everything, encouraged me, laughed with me.
I once asked the woman who raised me (worked for my mother for too little money) how to live on little, and she told me, "Buy what you need but very few things that you just want." She died last week, we were still friends (19 years apart), she never treated me badly, which is one reason she was such an influence on me.
The older woman who lived across the street from us during the summer. She was a widow and this was her summer place. What struck me about her was that she lived a very rich life from that summer place. It was as simple two bedroom 700 sq ft cottage, with a 3/4 bath, screened porch and stone fireplace (no insulation built on cement block post supports) so not something you could live in during the colder months). She had very little in the way of furnishings and decorative pieces. When we went "shopping" (as my mom loved to shop and still does so recreationally) she never purchased anything outside of what she truely needed. Her home was filled with books and was always learning or teaching herself something. She did a lot with the little raspberry batch in the back of her wooded lot and what she found at the local farmer's market. She loved to can and made her own bread. There was no "yard" (grass, flower garden etc..) to speak of. Her dress was simple and practical. Knitting occupied much of her free time and her radio was her only source of electronic entertainment (no tv). She volunteered a lot with the local church and a group that mentored teen girls. She always had time to teach me something, to listen or to just tell a story about the past. Telling a good yarn was something I very much remember about her. She passed away two days before my wedding.
My Mom, who survived thru many extreme hardships and deprivations in her life (WWII Germany as a teen, house bombed by Russians when they invaded her city when she was 14, seperated from parents for 2 years not knowing if they were dead or alive, in a Russian work camp until escaped and walked hundreds of miles from the Batiic Sea to Munich to get to a refugee camp). And her tough financial and personal times and many hardships as an adult - and thru out most of her life - yet she felt extremely grateful and got such joy just having the absolute basics in life to be happy and satisfied. Made me realize that if she can survive and overcome the things she did, and with such an additude of gratefulness and humility, I could deal with and overcome anything myself - and hopefully without too much whining :-)!
These are wonderful. Keep them coming!!!
I have a few to list:
Our neighbor growing up. He bought the farm next door to us.He didn’t fix it up much, just like to putter. He had very little in the way ofthings but was always friendly, would bring us extra produce and would let usdrive his HUGE Farmall tractor. Later on, we found out he had been working forthe government in “research” and was actually a multi millionaire. He donated$200,000 to the local animal shelter when he retired and moved to a small condoin the Adirondacks. J
My biggest influence were grandparents on my mother’s side.They lived very simple, never had much. Both grew up dirt poor, Papa was afarmer and Nanna’s family lived in the woods without any modern conveniences. They lived through the depression, buildingtheir home with own hands, as money and time allowed. Papa always kept a smallgarden. His philosophy was to never take more than they needed, share what theyhad extra and always be nice. Nanna liked things very clean and simple. Whenshe did the house over in the early 80’s, she donated all the older items to aVeteran’s group. Everything matched andwas top of the line but well taken care of. When I was 12, I went to stay withthem for 4 blessed weeks. Nanna taughtme how to clean, declutter and how she went about it. What impressed me themost? Their little closet in the bedroom. It was maybe 2 ˝ feet wide, with adouble rod. It contained ALL their clothes and shoes. And my Papa was a tallman at 6’7”. Nanna always wore light weight sweater, long sleeve in winter,sleeveless in summer, mules and slacks (as she called them) She had 1 wintercoat and a little pair of winter booties, for those days her mules couldn’t getthrough the snow. JI think we counted her having 20 items thatshe mixed up all the time for multiple outfits. Papa had even less. One suit, 2dress shirts, several t-shirts and green jeans, sneakers or his slippers, ifNanna didn’t catch him. One heavy coat, 1 wind breaker, for he loved to ridehis bike for exercise.
They ate simple meals out of their garden and meat from thefamily or neighbors farm, Papa only drank iced tea or water, and never EVEREVER wasted food.
I remember cleaning with her and it was fun. She made iteasy and explained the less I owned, the less I had to worry. (And remember, mymom, her daughter, is a packrat to the gills- only thing they ever disagreedon.) She wasn’t a shopper, preferred to stayhome and knit/cross stitch, take walks, picnic and read books from the library.She said too many things made the house dusty. I couldn’t agree more.
They never had much money but always loved us and took timeto play with us. Yes, big ole Papa on the floor being Ken to my Barbie. Yep…lovedthat man!! You never knew they were poor and they were NEVER unhappy.
Thirdly, a couple I met recently. They live in a tinyapartment with their 11 year old son. When they moved here to Texas for a job,they sold 85% of what they owned. Their apartment is neat and organized, withtheir favorite items hi lighted. It’s awesome!!! She even showed me her closetsand I fainted. I strive to be like them. J
My great-aunt who gave me such a wonderful simple life during the summers--full-blown breakfasts on Victorian china. Card tables covered with linen on the front porch with blueberries and cream. Card games at night. Sewing lessons on her old Singer. Life was good. She wasn't a simple-liver by label, she was one just because that's who she was. But again, as others have said, so many who grew up in the first part of the last century really just grew up that way.
My uncle was kind of an inspiration in some ways. Even though he was a very charismatic, successful business man, he was really, really frugal, and appreciated the simple life. He was a bit of a Renaissance man, so he always looked to be totally involved in whatever he did, and he had many interests. While he was in the middle of building a beautiful house in CT and the huge pond to go with it on a couple of acres, he lived "off the grid" in an old house on the property with no electricity. After he and his wife moved in, they planted vegetable gardens and an orchard, and he bartered with the neighbor who had chickens. He did a bit of living off the land in another sense, too--I remember the time my cousin fished a frog out of the pond, showed it proudly to my uncle, who then proceeded to whack the frog against a rock, cut off the legs and throw them on the grill. I must say that was a bit shocking, but that was my uncle. A key memory of him was when he and I went to my brother's wedding in Minnesota, and took a day to drive around and often he would pull the car to the side of the road, pop out and exclaim, "That's a nice vista!" and then just meditate on it for a while and then hop back in the car and drive off to the next one. To this day, whenever I see a really pretty view I say (at least to myself), "That's a nice vista!"
There are tons of people I've never met who have inspired me, like the Nearings, St. Francis, etc., but I'm assuming you mean real people.
Absolutely cherish threads like these!
Oh Catherine!!! ANYONE who inspires you, whether you are related, read about them or just met them. : )
Well, my mom is the Queen of frugal, I am merely a member of her court. And yet, she has always spent money on the things that she valued, like education for her kids, a big fancy house and more recently "Life-long learning" classes for herself. But she can make a meal out of a handful of flour, a can of something and the leftovers that anybody else would have thrown out. She shared a newspaper subscription with a neighbor for years before the neighbor moved and she had to pay for it all by herself. She has clothing that date back to when she was in her twenties, and she still wears those items, but of course, takes them off as soon as she gets home to "keep them good." My mortage is with my mom, and everytime the interest rates drop, she calls me up, we do an addendum to the mortgage so that I get the reduced interest rate. She has several income streams (including the interest for a couple of real estate loans in addition to mine) and she prides herself on living on her social security income. It is a game to her. She uses purses and wallets that belonged to my grandmother, and took the fabric from grandma's suits (she was a large woman) to make covers for the seat cushions in the game room.
Peace Pilgrim for minimalism and peacefullness and joy. I see quite clearly that simpliciy and joy are entertwined. Peace Pilgrim had one set of clothes and a toothbrush and comb. I find that the fewer items I have to take care of, the more time and energy I have to spend on the things I want to. I'm less stressed and have time to really appreciate and enjoy people and basic activities.
The many, many eldery patients I have cared for who described for me their earlier lives and how they problem solved when they didn't have money or modern-day expectations. I knew one couple who raised 13 children on a coal miner's pay. Their house had 3 bedrooms. One for the couple and the youngest child, one for the boys and one for the girls. They washed clothes in a big iron pot over a open fire in the back yard and hung them to dry. They had metal cups for drinking and at dinner, they ate in 2 shifts and everybody shared a drinking mug with the person next to them at the table. All the the kids took on jobs when they were able: milking for a neighbor, newspaper route, taking in washing, etc. and they got to keep half their earnings. The rest was given to the parents for living expenses. One of my former patients was a 4 year old with a neuologic disease who could not speak. He taught me how to play with my children when they were little (I was too much like Float-On's mom.)
Authors that have effected me: Jeff Aslett (you do not have to have a collection-it's not needed for a fufilling life.) Elaine St. James (you do not have to carry a purse, get clothes with pockets and if you use rubberbands, you do not have to save everyone that comes with the newspaper. Figure out how many you use and keep that many plus one or two extra.) YMOYL (track your expenses, you will be amazed at how you are spending your money and money=life energy, be aware of how you spend both.)
And something that I think I figured out on my own: if you fill your home, mind, time with stuff that doesn't bring you joy...you won't be joyful. i.e. do not keep stuff that is not a part of your life now, even if it was a part of you life before if you do not still love it. This applies to hobbies, memorabilia, volunteer opportunities, couches, jobs.
goldensmom
1-20-13, 8:15pm
I was not inspired to be frugal/simplistic, it was a learned behavior. Being raised on a farm, the needs of the farm came first and what was leftover went to the family. We never went without but did not have extras. My parents made ends meet without the help of USDA or social programs in the 50’s and we learned what ‘prioritize’ meant. My parents lived within their means, no credit or credit cards. Love thy neighbor as yourself; treat others better than yourself; be good stewards of whatever you have; use common sense; seek wisdom and learn discernment. This early childhood programming has stuck with me these many years and serves me well today.
Bump!
Lovin' this thread! More, please!
Gardenarian
1-28-13, 3:40pm
Most of my inspiration comes from books. I've also found dogs to be a source of inspiration.
I think my parents were more of an example of what I did not want my life to be like, especially in terms of parenting.
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