Simplicity's Guide

It’s early morning. I slide my feet into fleecy slippers, lift my softest cardigan from where it hangs on the hook inside the closet door, thread my arms through the sleeves and pull it over my shoulders, a warm layer against the chilly air. I walk into the dark, quiet kitchen. The waxing moon has slid around to the western windows, its gentle light falling through the glass. I strike a match and light the candles, turn on a flame beneath the kettle, start the fire. A few minutes later, I tuck beneath a blanket on the sofa with a cup of tea, my journal, and a little light to see the pages by.

This is simplicity to me. Unhurried time. Quiet. Margin. A predictable rhythm to my days where there’s space for meaningful work, for learning, and creating. Where there’s availability for the unexpected, for others, for myself. Where my environment supports my longings and lifestyle.

Ten years ago, our simplicity journey began with listening, with honesty about our current life and our hoped-for life. It began by dreaming into reality what our hearts were calling us toward - intentionality in our choices, in our possessions, in our home, in our lifestyle. We began extracting the unnecessary; distilling to the essence of us. Less, but better became profoundly meaningful. And so it’s continued, through seasons and growth and change, through bumps and falters, leading us toward a deeper experience of life. 

I can say, all these years in, that simplicity is somehow both attractive and elusive at the same time. Sure, it’s ‘the quality or condition of being easy to understand or do’ (according to Webster), but perplexingly, it can feel much more complicated than that. How does one practice simplicity, actually? What does it look like in real life? Now what does it look like in this stage of life? Where does one even begin?

With listening. That’s where to begin. Where is your heart? Where are your longings? What lifestyle are you drawn to? Let yourself sit there and see all the details. What do you see? Maybe more importantly, what do you not see? From this, begin to construct a framework of words that describe and support you and your envisioned life. These become your guide. As you go forward and make decisions, you’ll have something then  to hold them up to. Which choice lines up with the vision and values?

I do this still, even after all this time. Recently, I paused with pencil and paper (a very January thing to do), and tuned in. What words, I wondered, would define and describe where I am in simplicity’s journey now? The words that came were familiar, refreshing, and full of life. Simplicity’s guide.

Slow, intentional living

Mindfulness 

Authentic / curated / tasteful  

Quiet elegance

Hand-crafted / antique / vintage / found

Nature / natural / rural

Slow food: organic / whole / raw / grass-fed / free-range / local / seasonal

Sustainable: lasting / natural / reduce / reuse / recycle

Create / vision / dream

Artisan / local / small

Journal / prayer & meditation / fitness

Slow fashion

Less but better

Soulful relationship

*Book pictured above: Down to Earth by Lauren Liess