Embracing Simplicity

A Teacup by Jennifer Orkin Lewis

 A curious thing has been happening to me over the past few years.  I find that I am becoming increasingly bothered by clutter.  Not craft-stash-clutter, but life clutter.  Habit clutter, responsibility clutter, people who wear me down, inane TV shows - there are quite a few things I have been drawn to assess in favor of peace and contentment.

As my bones creak and stamina declines (what is with that?), I have a strong desire to move past the habitual to-do's.  Why waste my reserves on something I don't really like in the first place?  There are a plethora of ideas in my pocket just waiting to take me on a proverbial road trip of pleasure.  Ahhh, but where is the time?  It is right where I left it, only it was taken up by things totally unnecessary and usually involving procrastination.

Things.  Stuff.  Collections.  The stuff in my world is distracting and overwhelms my mind whether I am in their proximity or not.  I have never considered myself a person who collects for the sake of collecting, thank goodness, but that hasn't stopped me from amassing a nice set of cookbooks (a shelf's worth of which have gone unopened for many years), a fair number of Longaberger baskets (some of which are packed away under the eaves upstairs), and a drawerful of dog toys, only two of which Bailey actually likes to play with.  Purge - donate - eBay!

My scheme has picked up steam as more and more time is freed up.  My mind is happier, too. This is amazing. Also, I find that I am doing things more slowly, savoring the experiences, listening intently to friends and approaching more aspects of my life with a single-mindedness that is rewarding.  The more I simplify, the more I gain in fulfillment.  Nice.