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Strive For Living a Simple Life …
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Are you happy? Is your life fulfilling and what you always envisioned? Do you have the time for the things or people you truly love? Do you know what is important to you?
For many folks, the answer to all these questions is no. Why are we living such dismal lives? My belief is that we are not living our lives on our own terms. Living a simple life can change that.
Everyday we are bombarded with images from the media and corporate America. They tell us how we should look, live and buy. We will then be part of the status quo. We will be living "the American dream."
We are all working so hard on achieving "the American dream." We work at jobs we don't enjoy and work at home just to make sure we have what everyone else has. Is that really your dream - to be like everyone else? Or, do you want to live your life with integrity and purpose?
To create a life that you really want, you need to ask yourself some questions. What is most important to you? And, what is keeping you from having the life you want? Living a simple life will help you focus on what's important - living with joy and purpose.
Living a simple life does not mean selling everything you own and moving to a commune. It means living your life with integrity and making wise choices. It means changing or getting rid of the things that keep you from your desired life.
Why Simplify
The desire for many to simplify comes from dissatisfaction, depression, emptiness and stress. Our basic human inner human needs are being squashed for our external drive to have it all. These needs are universal and include:
1) time to ourselves for inner reflection and spiritual growth
2) desire to reduce our stress levels and improve our health
3) decide what is really important to us and the ability to pursue what that is
4) more time for relaxation, play, creativity
5) freedom to use our time as we want
Simplifying can mean different things to different people, of course. It doesn't mean drastic change or a totally different lifestyle. It can, though, if you choose. It really starts with what you want. Taking small steps will make it possible. How you live your life is your choice.
When my son was born, I had to go back to work and put him in daycare. But, I always knew that I wanted to stay home with him. For about two years I couldn't, but I focused intently on making it happen. I am now home with my son and would not have it any other way. I passed on getting a new car. I saved as much money as I could. My husband also made sacrifices. We are all more happy, healthy and less irritable.
10 Simple Changes
There are many simple changes you can make towards living a simple life.
1) Clean up the clutter in your house and get rid of it.
2) Keep your wardrobe and grooming accessories to a minimum. Choose a simple hairstyle and easy to wear clothing.
3) Say "no" to obligations that really don't interest you. If you don't want to go to that party, decline the invitation.
4) Plan simple meals for you and your family. A salad and lean meat/fish will do.
5) Try to cut your work hours or work from home part of the time. Create more of a work/life balance.
6) Turn off the TV and don't read newspapers or magazines. You can use that hour or two a day to for something more inspiring.
7) Limit your children's activities. Do they really need to play soccer, lacrosse and be in the school play?
8) When you buy something, ask yourself why. Are you buying it for you or because of what someone else might think?
9) If you don't need it, don't buy it.
10) Take at least a half hour a day for introspection (prayer, meditation, writing, reading, exercise). The intuition you will receive through this will inspire you even more.
Developing a mindset for living a simple life isn't easy. It is not the norm. But, this way of thinking is growing in popularity. People are just tired of the rat race and living a meaningless life.
Our materialism gets in the way of what matters most. Simplifying one's lifestyle means more time for family and friends, introspection, learning and creation. These are the things that make life rich and magical.
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