Is Your Life Simple or Complicated

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Is your life complicated or simple? I know that my life used to be extremely complicated. It has taken me years to get to where I am in my simplistic journey and I still have a long way to go. I would rate myself as being half-way there (which is much better than having never begun the journey at all).

Simplicity is a process used to describe a lifestyle in which people opt out of a harried modern day life and choose to live one of frugality. I don’t mean that we necessarily live in poverty, its more a state of shifting our value systems in order to enjoy every minute of life’s energy. Simplicity means taking time for yourself in a hectic world.

While I have had some excellent teachers, I still have a long way to go in my own journey. I am working on clearing out the superfluous in my life to make room for more passion, depth and joy. I have some good friends coming along with me that make the road that much easier. One good friend came in to my house a couple of years ago and helped me get rid of so much stuff. It was just stuff that was cluttering my environment. I really wish we could do that exercise together again. It was incredible cathartic for me. We gathered items for the Good Will and what couldn’t go there.

As people, we become more and more stressed out from the pace of modern life and forget to LIVE life. It’s important to be mindful of each and every moment and dwell deeply in the present moment knowing that there is only one opportunity and it will never come again.

When we begin to search for meaning in our lives, we start to become aware of the emptiness and shallowness that surrounds us. This shallowness is primarily steeped in materialism and consumerism. We expend an tremendous amount of energy trying to keep up with the rat race. But, when we start to seek out a deeper meaning to our existence, we begin to ask ourselves, “What truly brings us joy?” Its so important that as human beings we are able to connect with our external environment as well as our internal spirituality, otherwise, we are out of balance with our surroundings.

Some tips for Simple Living:

1.De-clutter your surroundings. Ask yourself: “Do I use this? When did I use it last? Will I ever use it?” If the answer is no, get rid of it.

2.Decide what is really working in your life and let go of that which no longer serves you.

3.Encircle yourself with people who feed your soul. Shed those individuals from your life that you allow to make yourself feel small, insignificant, or lose confidence. Find friends who know that their glass is half-full and/or share the same value system as you.

4.Surround yourself with what you really need and love.

5.Carve some space for ‘mindful living’ so that you have time for ‘beingness’ rather than ‘doingness.’

Inspiration for this blog was at: http://www.pioneerthinking.com/gns_simplicity.html