
I usually become angst about 2 days into a vacation, already anticipating its end and the return to normalcy. Although I can attest no place has a bed as sweet as home. (Hat tip to the inventor of memory foam.) … Continue reading
I usually become angst about 2 days into a vacation, already anticipating its end and the return to normalcy. Although I can attest no place has a bed as sweet as home. (Hat tip to the inventor of memory foam.) … Continue reading
We always meet great people (and dogs) in Seaside. The topography and layout of Seaside orients you toward community. There are exceptions, but most residents and visitors are ready to go beyond “hello” for a chat. Everyone seems to have … Continue reading
I’m really blessed, abundantly. Like all of us though, I could come up with a list of items to complain about at any given time. Most of us find it difficult to put away our notepad of complaints and stop … Continue reading
A few months back we introduced a blankey to Wade – a soft teal chenille type. He developed a tender attachment in just a few weeks. Now the blankey is a nap and bedtime must. He carries the blankey around … Continue reading
Today was our first real day at the beach with Wade. Being beach lovers, my husband Brian and I have developed a somewhat involved beach setup over the years: chairs, umbrellas, staked blanket, cooler w drinks and food, cart, reading … Continue reading
Standing on the shore last night with my family at sunset, setting Wade’s feet upon the beach for the first time, I started to cry. I hadn’t expected to feel so sharply, and it caught me off guard. It was … Continue reading
I’m the first to say simplicity is a journey measured increments, in moments. My closet still wouldn’t pass for simple and now heading to vacation, I am reminded my packing wouldn’t either. Part of my packing challenge used to be … Continue reading
The catalog arrives. I open the first page and am transported to a distant island in the Pacific, or perhaps an historic artist’s loft in Paris. I am not a tourist, nor a resident, but some how I belong here. … Continue reading
How long does it take you to burnout on an item? Maybe the thrill of the video game passes after just a few weeks. Perhaps your new eye shadow isn’t quite the same shade as the one you just saw in a magazine. Or maybe your home decor suddenly seems childish and unsophisticated compared to the house you saw on HGTV.
We are inherently subject to the law of diminishing returns. As we seek to satisfy our desires for pleasure and fulfillment, we become more unsatisfied. Overtime we desire more and greater things to satiate our ever-increasing need for more “stuff.” There is one method to reduce or halt this burnout phenomenon – the discipline of contentment. I will write more on contentment in the coming weeks; for now consider contentment not something to be received, but something to be cultivated.
The pursuit of simplicity and contentment go hand-in-hand. One of the primary steps for either pursuit is the sloughing off or removal of nonessential “stuff” from our lives. This may sound relatively easy, but many of us have found it to be a painful pruning process. If it seems daunting, I suggest you consider another beginning step – stop accumulating more. Rather than buying (or even trading) for “new” items, rediscover the ones you already have. Living in a finite worlds means that you and I have limited time and attention. As we accumulate more stuff, our attention to each item diminishes. We quickly forget the items that once thrilled us. We under-utilize perfectly fine items and opt instead for something new. For example: I recently had the idea that perhaps I should purchase a new lens for my camera. It wouldn’t be difficult to make a case for the purchase or rationalize it to myself. However, instead of shopping for lens, I asked myself a question: Have I really maxed out the capabilities of my current camera? The answer is no; I likely use around 50% of my camera’s capabilities, maybe. My instinct is to look for a new tool, rather than maximize the one I already have.
I began to ask the same question of some of my other possessions. The result was a list of items I under-utilize and the commitment to not make new purchases related to these items. I hope this list catalyzes your own brainstorming.
What items do you under-utilize? What items are you tempted to buy even though a true need is absent?
Simplicity is well-used buzzword today. Although there may be some basic tenets of the philosophy or lifestyle, the spectrum of its meaning is broad. There are also different shades of simplicity, such as minimalism. I want to explain a few key points about my experience and definition of simplicity, or simplicity living.
First, simplicity is two-fold: It is the pruning of unnecessary possessions, commitments, and activities in our lives to increase space for the things of highest value (family, community, faith etc.).
The practical expression of simplicity is unique to each individual and his or her values. For one person simplicity might include elimination of TV programming, for another downsizing a home, for another declining outside commitments. The practice of simplicity is not always dramatic. Sometimes it’s subtle and includes small acts such as reducing your book collection or donating duplicate cooking tools.
First impressions of simplicity often include images of drab empty homes, sullen faces and cloistered families who reject mainstream culture. Simplicity is not a state of barrenness!
Second, simplicity living is a state of fullness, not deprivation! It is prioritizing the most satisfying and rich parts of life above the parts that detract from contentment.
From a young age, American media trains us that abundance or abundant living is found in possessions: The more you own or possess the more abundant and full your life. Simplicity involves a reeducation of the heart and mind. Like any worthwhile pursuit, there are challenges, but the fruit of contentment is worth the effort.
Third, simplicity is the process. The fruit is greater contentment, joy, and fulfillment.
I will write more on contentment as part of the 31 day writing challenge. I am anxious to share several simplicity triumphs to demonstrate the freedom and fulfillment of simplicity. And always – I would love to hear your stories! I encourage you to read Not More, Better from Joshua Becker at Living Minimalist, one blog fomenting my simplicity pursuit.