Why Making Choices Is So Hard

In a thought-provoking article, Orson Scott Card examines the book, "The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less"  by Barry Schwartz.   

Are you a Maximizer or a Satisficer?  

You'll have to read it to find out!

 Here's an excerpt:

"Why is it that even though we live in the richest country in the world and have an enormous number of choices we can make every day, we Americans show signs of being unhappier than we were thirty or fifty years ago?
Why are so many people so much more depressed?
Why are people who have everything so dissatisfied?
In the book The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, Barry Schwartz takes a scientific and logical look at why it might be that Americans feel so oppressed in the midst of freedom, so unhappy in the midst of plenty."


I highly recommend reading the article in full Here- Why Making Choices Is So Hard

You'll be glad you did.

Great Literature

Little Britches by Ralph Moody.  Another wonderful book chock full of amazing moments and life lessons.  His father was as true a man as ever lived and his quotes alone and should be read again and again.

Here are a few:

“A man's character is like his house. If he tears boards off his house and burns them to keep himself warm and comfortable, his house soon becomes a ruin. If he tells lies to be able to do the things he shouldn't do but wants to, his character will soon become a ruin. A man with a ruined character is a shame on the face of the earth.” 

 “Always remember, Son, the best boss is one who bosses the least.  Whether it’s cattle, or horses, or men; the least government is the best government.”

 “That night while we were milking, he told me it had been a day I should remember.  He said it would be good for me, as I grew older, to know that a man always made his troubles less by going to meet them instead of waiting for them to catch up with him, or trying to run away from them.” 

 “There are only two kinds of men in the this world:  Honest men and dishonest men. There are black men and white men and yellow men and red men, but nothing counts except whether they’re honest men or dishonest men.  Some men work almost entirely with their brains; some almost entirely with their hands; though most of us have to use both.  But we all fall into one of the two classes – honest and dishonest.  Any man who says the world owes him a living is dishonest.  The same God that made you and me made this earth.  And He planned it so that it would yield every single thing that the people on it need.  But He was careful to plan it so that it would only yield up its wealth in exchange for the labor of man.  Any man who tries to share in that wealth without contributing the work of his brain or his hands is dishonest.” 

There are other great books in the Little Britches series- my favorites being 'Man of the Family'  and 'The Home Ranch.'  

Each and every book in this series teaches valuable life lessons mixed with humor and hard work.
I wish every family could read these books!

A Month of Thanks: Literature Style!

I love books.  I love the way they feel, the stories and information that burst forth when you open their covers.    Many a childhood day for me was spent between the pages of a favorite book; hoping Mom wouldn't call me to perform a chore, run errands or mind a younger brother or sister. 
This November, I pay tribute to some of my all time favorites.
 Beloved quotes that have shaped my ideals, filled me with inspiration and, in general, made me a better person.  

The first book may be my all time favorite.  It's hard to decide, but this one book is filled with such beauty, such goodness and sweet humor; everytime I read it , it fills me with a mixture of joy, longing, wholesomeness.... and even tears.  

It's Laddie: A True Blue Story by Gene Stratton-Porter.  (Her real name is Geneva Grace Stratton-Porter- such a lovely name!)   Loosely based on her childhood, this book makes me long to be a part of her family, brought up on an Indiana Farm and raised by remarkable parents.  
I could write on and on about the story, but I think a few of my favorite quotes will better convey how I feel about this book.  There are so many to choose from- but some are too long to post here.  I hope that everyone has the opportunity to read and absorb the beauty of this wonderful book!


"The roads crossing our land were all right, and most of the others near us; and a road is wonderful, if it is taking you to the woods or a creek or meadow; but when it is walking you straight to a stuffy little schoolhouse where you must stand up to see from a window, where a teacher is cross as fire, like Miss Amelia, and where you eternally hear things you can't see, there comes a time about the middle of April when you had quite as soon die as to go to school any longer; and what you learn there doesn't amount to a hill of beans compared with what you can find out for yourself outdoors. Schoolhouses are made wrong. If they must be, they should be built in a woods pasture beside a stream, where you could wade, swim, and be comfortable in summer, and slide and skate in winter. The windows should be cut to the floor, and stand wide open, so the birds and butterflies could pass through. You ought to learn your geography by climbing a hill, walking through a valley, wading creeks, making islands in them, and promontories, capes, and peninsulas along the bank. You should do your arithmetic sitting under trees adding hickory nuts, subtracting walnuts, multiplying butternuts, and dividing hazelnuts. You could use apples for fractions, and tin cups for liquid measure. You could spell everything in sight and this would teach you the words that are really used in the world. Every single one of us could spell incompatibility, but I never heard father, or the judge, or even the Bishop, put it in a speech." 

 "Had I life to live over, I see now where I could do more; but neighbor, believe me, my highest aspiration is to be a clean, thrifty housekeeper, a bountiful cook, a faithful wife, a sympathetic mother. That is life work for any woman, and to be a good woman is the greatest thing on earth.  Never mind about the ladies; if you can honestly say of me, she is a good woman, you have paid me the highest possible tribute."

"If I had made that morning myself I couldn't have done better.  It was sunny, spring air, but it was that cool, spicy kind that keeps you stopping every few minutes to see just how full you can suck your lungs without bursting.  It seemed to wash right through and through and make you all over. The longer you breathed it the clearer your head became, and the better you felt, until you would be possessed to try and see if you really couldn't fly.  I tried that last summer, and knocked myself into jelly.  You'd think once would have been enough, but there I was going down the road with Laddie's pie, and wanting with all my heart to try again. 
 Sometimes I raced, but I was a little afraid the pie would shoot from the shingle and it was like pulling eye teeth to go fast that morning.  I loved the soft warm dust, that was working up on the road.  Spat! Spat!  I brought down my bare feet, already scratched and turning brown, and laughed to myself at the velvety feel of it.  There were puddles yet, where May and I had "dipped and faded" last fall, and it was fun to wade in them.  The roadsides were covered with meadow grass and clover that had slipped through the fence.  On slender green blades, in spot after spot, twinkled the delicate bloom of blue-eyed grass.  Never in all this world was our Big Creek lovelier.  It went slipping, and whispering, and lipping, and lapping over the stones, tugging at the rushes and grasses as it washed their feet; everything beside it was in masses of bloom, a blackbird was gleaming and preening on every stone, as it plumed after its bath.  Oh there's no use to try- it was just Spring when it couldn't possibly be any better."

Sisters and Friends

Anyone have daughters who are sent to their room (s) to clean their considerable mess, grumbling and blaming each other all the way...
 fighting over who left what on the floor and how unfair life is when you have to share things with your sister....

....only to find them laughing and friends again 45 minutes later?

The Importance of Family Culture

Family.  The very idea of it stirs up memories; playing with my brothers and sisters, being tenderly cared for by my mother, having adventures with my father.   The stories told to us children by our grandparents, aunts, uncles and parents.  Stories of another time in America, different than the era in which we were growing up.

I knew instinctively, that when I was a mother, I would be the caretaker of my children.  I would not pass them off to someone else for their daily needs.   When my oldest two were four and six, they remarked that they wished they could be in daycare like some of their friends.   Their friends also had divorced parents and it seemed neat to my children that they could stay at one parent's house or the other, could go to daycare and have fancy store-bought snacks, could have twice the Christmas presents.    
I tried to explain how lucky they were to have a mother who stayed home with them, to have parents who worked hard to do what we felt was right by them.  It was hard for their little minds to grasp.

Recently, in our home, we've been reading aloud, The Giver by Lois Lowry.  A thought provoking book, it's created some great discussions around the living room.

From Amazon.com Review:

In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price.

In the first few chapters, one of my daughters mentioned several times that she thought she would enjoy such a community.  Everything organized, everything in its place, everything controlled and simple.   Her comments led to discussions on individuality and what makes life interesting.  How important free choice is and how throughout history, a person or people cannot be held accountable for their actions unless they had freedom to choose for themselves.  

In relation to this, I read a really great article that I felt I needed to share.  
It's called The Family Culture vs. Pop Culture by Israel Wayne.  You can read it HERE.

Family culture, in my opinion, is so important.  The influence of generations past, when weighed for truth and rightness,  is a precious thing.


  Content copyright © 2012 by Jessa at Graceful Landing