Since about 2001, I have been on a trajectory towards simplicity. At first it was an idea, a book (Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin), a desire. Life as I knew it had gotten so complicated with a stressful job (and subsequent layoff) plus keeping up with all the trappings expected of success.
When faced with a fork in the road, I took the opportunity for change more because I felt the heat than because I saw the light. I decided that my time was worth more than money and, with a willing husband, began to pare away the excess that makes life complicated.
In the ten years that followed, the road less traveled led to changing careers and moving house until we found a place that fit not only our needs but our dreams.
But things are never that easy, and simplicity is sometimes complicated.
My husband told me yesterday that he admired the simple ways I've brought into our lives. But none of it is easy to accomplish. We try to eat healthy whole foods but it is sometimes a struggle not to fall by the processed-food wayside. It takes work to plan meals and choose the best ingredients. We've reduced the chemical products we once thought we couldn't live without but it takes time to make simple laundry soap and hair care items.
With canning pickles and making maple syrup comes patience and energy. Growing a vegetable garden takes effort and discipline. But the process of "going simple" is in itself a beautiful journey. The way a jar of rhubarb jelly is the color of rubies in the sunlight, the way sugar snap peas send shoots that coil like soft baby fingers around anything it can reach, the satisfaction of finding simple things that delight. Even my weekday commute to work by bike lets me start the day with activity, forward motion and the ability to notice small things like bumble bees worrying a peony or to say hello to the mail carrier.
Now, more than fourteen years into my journey, I know that every step is precious and every day is it's own reward. Onward!
In the ten years that followed, the road less traveled led to changing careers and moving house until we found a place that fit not only our needs but our dreams.
But things are never that easy, and simplicity is sometimes complicated.
My husband told me yesterday that he admired the simple ways I've brought into our lives. But none of it is easy to accomplish. We try to eat healthy whole foods but it is sometimes a struggle not to fall by the processed-food wayside. It takes work to plan meals and choose the best ingredients. We've reduced the chemical products we once thought we couldn't live without but it takes time to make simple laundry soap and hair care items.
With canning pickles and making maple syrup comes patience and energy. Growing a vegetable garden takes effort and discipline. But the process of "going simple" is in itself a beautiful journey. The way a jar of rhubarb jelly is the color of rubies in the sunlight, the way sugar snap peas send shoots that coil like soft baby fingers around anything it can reach, the satisfaction of finding simple things that delight. Even my weekday commute to work by bike lets me start the day with activity, forward motion and the ability to notice small things like bumble bees worrying a peony or to say hello to the mail carrier.
Now, more than fourteen years into my journey, I know that every step is precious and every day is it's own reward. Onward!
No comments:
Post a Comment