What’s really important #Friday Reflections

So I have chosen to write about why it is important to make the most out of life, why it is important to live life, because for me this week I have reached a turning point in my life and the way we as a family are living it.

We took a road trip late last week, we headed up to NSW to a coastal town where my brother lives with his wife and their 3 children. They are planning a move soon to a new area, but this is nothing new for them. They move around a lot in search of finding the perfect place to live and raise their family. It got me and my husband thinking, but I’m jumping ahead.

Four years ago, we moved from the suburbs out to a country town where we had the opportunity to build our dream home. The home I could raise my family in, we are blessed with a beautiful location, views of gum trees and hills. We have space, we have great neighbours, it really has been a dream come true. The only problem is that the majority of our daily lives is lived somewhere else. Our children go to school half an hour away, and I have never minded, but lately it is really becoming a chore.

We drive an hour in the mornings, an hour of an afternoon. And that is OK, but as the children grow, so do their friendships and their commitments to other activities at or around their school. 2 nights a week and on Saturdays Aspen is working on the school play, so that is 3 hours of driving to school those days plus an hour on Saturdays. This goes on for months. There are parties almost every weekend, and other activities. And we are getting tired.

We want to live our lives and be happy, but how do we work out what is the best way to do that? Do we live where we love, or live near the school? Sometimes you can’t just have it all, and that’s OK.

Being at my brothers, we loved how their children can walk to school, how they can play with their friends after school and on weekends. It really made us realise how much we are sacrificing to live in this beautiful home. 4 years ago I thought space, a big house, and views were what was going to make us feel happy, but now I am questioning all that. We love the area, but our lives just aren’t here.

Of course there are schools here, but we would never consider moving schools, our children are so happy and nurtured there, we have made amazing friendships and the sense of community in their school is beautiful.

So this week I have come to realise that life is not about a big house, we don’t need all the space we think we need, or all the riches and possessions. If we move closer to the children’s school, we have to accept that we will be downsizing. Our home will be smaller, we wont have all the space we enjoy right now. But life isn’t about all that, it is about making the most out of life and living our own lives our own way. I had to really reflect upon what matters to me this week. Does it matter that I have an impressive house, or does it matter that I have a happy home? The answer is so obvious, yet so many of us go into huge debt to have the ‘show-piece’ home. This week I sat in my lounge room and thought to myself “do I really need all this space”? I thought I did, I thought as a family we needed space, yet all we need is togetherness. I am so blessed to have an amazing husband and we are so blessed to have 3 healthy children, (children that once seemed like an impossible dream), we have amazing friends and all we want is to be closer to them, to feel more connected to the amazing community we are part of. I want to be able to say to a friend that they can pop in for a coffee with out an hours drive attached, I want my children to be able to have their friends over. Making this choice, I thought would be sad, yet I feel lighter and more free than I have in a long time.

Click to Tweet: Shedding possessions is a freeing experience enabling us to find true happiness

I have realised that to make the most out of life, we don’t need possessions, or materialistic items, we need community, family and friends. So we are setting off on a new journey as a family. It may take a while, but I feel really positive about shedding the need for outer happiness and finding more inner peace in a smaller home.

*Writing prompts for this week kicking off 5 June 2015*

– Why is it important to be able to be able to say ‘no’?
– Reflect about the first time you saw your newborn
– Reflect on how it’s important to make the most out of life – to live your life.
– Reflect on the following quote:“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” – Douglas Adams

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Linking up with Friday Reflections is a great way to find fresh inspiration for your writing and blogging. It provides you with endless ideas to write about! You have the support of other bloggers visiting your site, offering advice and support. It is a great way to connect with other passionate writers and make new and wonderful friendships! Linking up with us will also increase your site traffic and adds many more comments on your post and opportunities for your work to be shared on social media.

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Final Word from Mackenzie and Janine.

We are so excited to begin our journey with you, to invite old friends to join us on this reflective journey, and meet wonderful new friends and amazing bloggers along the way! Feel free to Link-Up each week, or whenever you are feeling inspired.

We started this Link-Up together when we realised we shared a passion for reflection, (you can tell this simply by reading our website names), and we share the desire to inspire and empower others to follow their true path.

Enjoy and start following your path to happiness, with Janine and Mackenzie at Friday Reflections.

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Images on this post are all by Reflections Photography  see more atphotography.reflectionsfromme.com and follow Steven Glanville @photoglanville