Posts tagged with “simplicity”
How I’m Accepting the Uncertain Future (with Less Worry and More Joy)
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” ~Ferris Bueller
For as long as I can remember, my life has consisted of change.
I grew up moving around the world. I went from Canada to Pakistan, Egypt to Jamaica, Ghana to Ukraine, and then finally China to Australia.
Moving to new countries and adapting to new cultures is like a cold plunge to your entire system and way of being. I felt I had no choice but to fit in as quickly as possible.
By the age of six …
5 Meditation Retreat Practices to Try at Home for a More Mindful Life
“Meditation is the ultimate mobile device; you can use it anywhere, anytime, unobtrusively.” ~Sharon Salzberg
It was the fifth night of my first silent retreat, and 100 of us spilled out of the meditation hall into darkness, flashlights swinging as we made our way along the path to our dorms and sleep.
Suddenly the wind picked up and quiet excitement rippled through the group as we looked up to see a bank of clouds move and reveal a full moon, beaming a bright white light from the night sky. We stopped and stood, some of us for hours, gazing upwards.…
What Happiness Means and How I’m Boosting My Day-to-Day Joy
“Don’t let this silly world trick you into starving your soul for material things. Cause someday you’re gonna be sitting out under the sun and realize how little you actually need to be truly happy.” ~Brooke Hampton
Three years ago, at the height of pandemic, I made many pitchers of lemonade from scratch. This newfound ritual was one of the better things about being on lockdown.
I’d hand squeeze a big bag of lemons for about one-third cup of juice, and experiment by adding vanilla extract, mint, and tablespoons of honey. I’d bring my drink outside, where I sat for …
How to Be a Lot Happier: A Simple Solution
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~Leonardo da Vinci
There’s a funny thing with us humans.
We spend our lives trying desperately to find happiness, and yet we don’t even know what it is. We can’t explain, describe, or define it. We just know that we want it because it’ll make everything peachy. Time and time again, though, studies have shown that our never-ending quest for happiness is quite often the very thing that makes us miserable.
Trying to find happiness is an exercise in futility. This is a truth I did not easily come to realize. It took a …
The Paradox of Less is More (And How It Will Improve Your Life)
“Don’t use a lot where a little will do.” ~Proverb
One of the most common paradoxical statements we hear is “less is more.”
I, like many others, understand what that means in the context of personal style, where it is commonly used.
I can appreciate, for example, that when we overdress, we are often taking away from the beauty of the outfit or the look and detracting attention from each valuable detail or accessory.
But recently I discovered that the paradox of “less is more” has many other applications.
When I started questioning whether I could apply this simple philosophy …
The Simple Path to a More Fulfilling, Far Richer Life
“Let us prepare our minds as if we’d come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day. The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time.” ~Seneca
Many of us say we want a simpler life, but we don’t make any changes because that would require us to make hard choices that go against the flow. We say we want to be less busy and enjoy more of our days, but it feels easier to do what everyone else is doing, even if …
A Different Kind of More: The Beauty of Living with Less Stuff
She was all that mattered. I was deeper in debt, legal fees, and uncertainty than ever before, but I held on tight to my vow to give her more.
I would give her everything. I’d work harder, make more, buy her more, take her to see more, do more, and prove to her that everything would be okay. I had no idea that this new goal would be just as damaging, and just as hard on my heart.
My desire to give my daughter more wasn’t wrong, just misguided. While I could never have articulated it then, I did want …
Simplify These Things and You’ll Enjoy Life a Lot More
“I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.” ~Lao-Tze
So said Lao-Tze, perhaps one of the greatest teachers humankind has ever had.
When I committed myself to the most important journey of my life (of course I’m talking about the spiritual one), I was focused on gaining patience. I worked hard to free my mind and soul from all clutter and emotional charge.
There was one aspect I kept ignoring: getting rid of the clutter. When one of my closest friends was in my room, she didn’t wait too long before noticing, …
5 Lessons on Living a Happy Life from Hiking in the Himalayas
“All seasons are beautiful for the person who carries happiness within.” ~Horace Friess
This year I felt a calling to explore the beauty of nature in a different way. I enrolled in a program where I would be hiking in the Himalayas.
I would be living in camps and guest houses, away from any communication or technology, and even away from almost all people. I would not have a shower or “standard” toilets, and I would experience a different lifestyle for some time where very limited resources are available.
My heart is full of gratitude for what I experienced during …
20 Ways Sitting in Silence Can Completely Transform Your Life
“Silence is a source of great strength.” ~Lao Tzu
For over two years I spent one out of every four weeks in silence. At the time I was living at a Zen Monastery and every month we would have a week-long silent retreat.
During this retreat we sat meditation in silence, ate in silence, worked in silence, and only communicated through hand gestures and written notes.
At first living like this was hard, but over time I learned to grow to appreciate silence. By the time I left I learned that silence was my friend and teacher.
What did silence …
Making Changes When the People Around You Resist Your Plan
“The greatest step toward a life of simplicity is to learn to let go.” ~Steve Maraboli
So I took the plunge. I stated out loud that I wanted to simplify my life.
I wanted to have a life where what I did for a living and how I lived were more in balance with the person I am and aspired to be. The waterfall effect of that verbal declaration catapulted my life into a stratosphere of change that I am still learning to just “go with.”
Three weeks after that declaration, I got “downsized” at work. Okay, I thought, the …
Need Less, Have More: Life Expands When We Eliminate the Excess
“Knowledge is learning something new every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day” ~Zen Saying
Simplicity, at its heart, comes down to eliminating the excess in our lives.
Excess needs, wants, possessions. The list goes on.
Society tries to sell us on the idea that having more in our lives should be the goal and is the answer. But is more really improving the quality of our lives?
Do more possessions beyond a certain point really add value to our lives?
Do more commitments in our diaries really help us feel less stressed and rushed?
Does always wanting …
