They accept the occasional water system problems when our visits sometimes overtax the drain system. Now, my own family of six has recently experienced our greatest money shortage-while we started a new clinic. My husband and I discuss finances openly with our children, as did Mom and Dad. Our children have voluntarily foregone allowances and clothes, toys, trips, etc., to which they had become accustomed. The older two have earned hundreds of dollars for major personal wants.
Babies stumble many times before learning balance.
Being tugged by society as we are, in so many different directions, if we appear to have mastered simplicity, it is fair to assume we've made many mistakes on the road to such mastery. Maintaining equanimity in the midst of a whirlwind requires constant vigilance. We are at our simplest, yet our greatest complexity, when we are able clearly to discern the difference between who we are and who we are not. Each new occasion presents us with opportunities to practice and perfect the simplicity of our discernment. Mary and Franklin Clark live in rural North Liberty, and are active in the West Branch Friends Church family.