As an expat living in the United States, we’ve been privileged to be exposed to the American tradition of Thanksgiving for a couple of years now. While we haven’t embraced the national Turkey obsession, it is a fantastic time of year to spend time with family and reflect on the many things we have to be grateful for.

It is also a time of year when there is lots of temptation. The sales are already in full effect and Black Friday promotions seem to come earlier and earlier in the year. During the spending frenzy happening around you, remember that the best things in life aren’t things!

For those interested, I’m still on track with my No New Stuff year long challenge. So far so good, and I’ll do my best to weather the marketing blitz over the next couple of weeks, when the current holiday sales quickly transition into Christmas sales, and then post-Christmas sales. At some point I will write another blog post about my experiences during the No New Stuff challenge but so far things are pretty boring – in a good way – nothing much to report other than I’ve avoided buying new clothes, shoes, household items or gadgets.

Anyway I didn’t want this post to be another anti-consumerism rant. Instead it’s simply a reminder to be mindful, be grateful for all that we already have and to embrace experiences and relationships rather than things.

In the spirit of the holiday period, I wanted to express my gratitude to everyone who has read, commented on and supported Simple Life Compass. As a new blogger, my goals this year have been modest – to start understanding the technical elements of establishing a website, to find an audience and, where possible, deliver content that people value and find useful. You have all been an essential part of this journey. Thank you!

Mr Simple Life

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