Hello again NapkinDaddians, I am in Waco still, making things run smooth for my daughter as she recovers from a bad back.

This almost looks like a Christmas type napkin, with all the boxes, but it’s apropos anytime of the year. Take it from someone who knows, having a lot of stuff isn’t any more satisfying than having a little bit of stuff. There are conveniences and luxuries and sweets momentary satisfactions indeed that come with having nice stuff. But look at any child who goes out into the world starting out and see if the ones that have everything handed to them are any more satisfied with life than those who go the more usual route of having to start anew as an adult, with just a little.

All four of my daughters are in that situation now. Small apartments and old houses, going to college or starting over, borrowed furniture, thrift store bargains, iffy appliances. They are making their way in the world and I am excited for them. It’s fun to build up a life with old or new stuff, and I am all for it. I am a believer in stuff. But I am not a believer in stuff giving me satisfaction in the long view. My best satisfaction comes from relationships, from helping, from creating. It comes from using stuff to further love and further good. That is when stuff satisfies.

Drawing and commentary © Marty Coleman

“To be satisfied with little is hard, to be satisfied with a lot is impossible.” – Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach, 1830-1916, Austrian author and Countess