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classic cars that we work on when the yen to do so enters our psyche. We describe them as our 'toys' to family and friends. We drive them at least once a week to keep them primed.

Remodeling our home is more of a hobby than a necessity to us. We do a room a year, each with its own character and decor. Two rooms provide the further enjoyment and enhancement of two saltwater aquariums. These type of aquariums require special lighting, cooling systems, and refugiums to maintain them. Caring for them is non-stop, but the benefit and enjoyment we derive justifies it.

My extended family, and two of my children live away from me, such that I must purchase an airline ticket and a rental car to see them, which I do at least once a year.

This is our form of materialism.

We were NOT born with silver spoons in our mouths. We struggled from humble beginnings to get where we are and have the comforts we have. We do not take them for granted; if we do, it's not for long. We have known what it is to be without. We have lost and started over more than once.

The activities we conduct not only benefit us, but others as well. The website, articles written, e-mails sent are all means that we use to pass on the beauty in this world to others. The work done in our yard is for us to enjoy and for others to see. We love walking in nature, not only to enjoy it, but to create a memory through photography. We spend time with family as often as we can, for that is of the utmost importance to us, and that which makes us most happy and at peace.

The hard work we have put into our lives is a legacy we share and hope we have passed on to our children. It is in doing the work ourselves and, therefore, reaping satisfaction from that accomplishment that we pass on to them.

It was said that the obtaining of material possessions should be done in moderation. I agree; done in moderation, and in conjunction with the cultivation of one's self-growth and enlightenment. There is so much information out there to glean from. The more we push our limits and learn, the more we realize what is most important. Peace, comfort, family; we become wiser, and arrive at simplicity. At least we should try to.

In my thinking, our greed and need for material possessions is what has brought about the breakdown of the family unit, the breakdown of our relationships with our fellow human beings. We trust no one. We share so little. We speak non-truths to each other. The more things we have, the more powerful we feel, satiating the ego. We must not only keep up with the Jones, we must surpass them.

Somehow, if we can turn the tables and get back to our humanity (oh, I know how idealistic that seems), and yes, have the comforts we work hard for, but also give what is intrinsically human to each other, especially those who need it the most - our sincere thoughts and genuinely caring hearts; then, the scales are balanced. To me, it is a fact that you must learn to love yourself first before you can truly know how to love another. We as humans have lost sight of this, most evident by our troubled children, and the troubled adults they become. We are no longer committed to our children from the time they are born.

We can pass all the laws we want. They will not fix the family, or the troubled teen, or the homeless veteran.

That is a power only found inside each of us. A few of us will create tidal waves felt around the world. But for most of us, just a touch or a smile - genuinely given, mind you - can make all the difference in the world to just one person.

It's so easy... and the embodiment of simplicity.

Learn more about this author, Louweeze.
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