Care for what you already have

Poverty and austerity are also seen in care. Repairing, storing, cleaning, and using well what you have educates the heart against the anxiety of always getting something new. It is not stinginess. It is practical gratitude. Whoever takes care of things learns not to live as a slave to whim and remains more available for real needs. Discipline is played out in fairly ordinary things: the body, schedule, and those small daily yeses. Often what matters is not spectacular: starting on time, cutting out an excess, finishing something, or fulfilling a duty even when you no longer feel like it.