Its been a _______ year. I am not sure of the word to use here. There doesn’t seem to be one, perhaps if I just give you the facts you can fill in the blank for me. Within the first few months of the year I have lost people I love to cancer and suicide, there has also been miscarriage and witnessing the struggle and sacrifice that comes with aeging family members.
These things leave you with a tangle of emotions that I can’t describe or even put a word to; but these losses have also made something else come to focus, that has for a long time now, has been in my mind.
The growing realisation, some call it consciousness, that life should be lived more simply and that way of living adds to happiness. I am not suggesting that we should run away from real life, to go and be hermits and live in caves. This isn’t about living a life without joy and fun — it’s actually the opposite. Its about finding, or re-discovering, the aspects of life that really matter and having time to value and enjoy them. It is a search for simplicity and the contentment that goes with it.
There is also another factor at play here, the state of our planet that is our home, that sustains all living things, has never been so fragile. It disturbs me deeply that the things we do and do not do, they way of live we have become so used to is causing that fragility.
With all this in mind, over the next few weeks I am going to take you on a journey with me as I tell you about the strategies, I have adopted over the years to simplify my life and the ways I will continue to do so. Watch this space, there is beauty in simplicity.
* The author is a consultant and coach. Instagram handle: @miss_shefa, Website: missshefa.com
There is beauty in simplicity.
