Looking for the silver lining

You know I have been very concerned with all the price increases lately. Food, gas, clothes everything is costing more and often the quality is less!

I try and work around the increases I grow my own food as much as I can. I buy used or re-make what I have or even (gasp!) do without, sometimes.

But today I was thinking, maybe there is a silver lining to all this....

1) We are being more careful with our driving/gas consumption. We walk or ride our bike. We are more likely to shop locally. So, that means we are polluting less, exercising more and keeping our money in our own community.

2) We shop more carefully. We are less likely to impulse buy. Sometimes we even decide to wait awhile for a non-necessity item. We end up NOT wasting as much money on junk we don't need anyway.

3) When we grow our own food, we grow organic and THAT is healthier for us.

4) When we grow our own fruits and vegetables, we tend to eat more fruits and vegetables and THAT is healthier for us.

5) We have been doing more things as a family at home. Board games are more conducive to real communication then going out to a movie. We talk together as a family more when there's less going on. We are learning just how cool our children really are!

6) When we buy gently worn clothing or restyle our old stuff, we are polluting less, saving more, and learning how to be creative!

There is a lot to complain about with our economy right now. But even in these times, there is so much more to be grateful for.