Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify.”
― Henry David Thoreau,

 

Simplicity.  Do you yearn for the days when life was more simple? Do you remember fondly times of having less and enjoying it more? Do you know you can choose to do it again?

These days we complain that life goes to fast, that our lives, our homes, our offices, our jobs are too crowded, that we have neither the time nor the space to enjoy life.

Because we don’t have the time we buy without thinking: “Do we have tuna at home? Do I have a blouse to wear with that suit? Extra cans of tuna and blouses we never wear, some with the price tag still on, pile up in our closets, because of course we don’t have time to bring them back.

We shop without thought, packing our closets and garages. We say “yes” to make everyone happy because we don’t have time to think, so our days are packed just as tightly.

We live with clutter that rather than showing how rich we are, shows how poor we are. Too poor to have the luxury of time to think and sort. Hoarding as a sign of the fear that we’ll need it someday (of course we won’t be able to find it, but that’s another story).

Yet when we think of simplicity we know that simplicity is rich. Time and thought invested in choosing to spend our space and time living consciously with what serves us and what delights us. Letting go of what does not. Doing only those things we feel pulled to not those things we think we should. This is living.

Simplicity is elegant. We admire the simple, clean lines of a dress or building. We appreciate someone who can give us simple directions. An uncluttered room lets us breathe.  A book shelf with empty space invites new thoughts. A clear desk invites new possibilities. A clear mind invites living at its best.

Simplicity allows us to live the richness of life. Time for friends, for pleasurable pursuits, time to dream… To live simply is to have separated the important from the unimportant, to have made choices based on the decision of savoring the best life has to offer.

Simplicity doesn’t come over night. Its a process, as most good things are. It starts as any journey, one step at a time.

Here are some ideas to get started:

• Stop junk mail. Send a signed letter with your name and address requesting removal from mailing lists.
  The Direct Marketing Association
  Mail Preference Service
  PO Box 9008
  Farmingdale, New York 11735-9008
• Call or e-mail catalog companies you have ordered from and request they stop sending catalogs.
• Invite friends to take you off their mailings of jokes, computer warnings, and incredible give-aways.
• STOP before you print. Do you really need a paper copy?
• Each week drop two things that are draining you.
• How many credit cards do you need?
• Schedule time to clear out a drawer or closet.
• Clear out negative thinking
• Slow the mind
• Look around at what you own. Ask: “Does this give me energy or take energy?” Begin to let go of the energy drains. Then start on your daily planner…
• Schedule time to do nothing – now there’s living in luxury!