After spending a week in the busy city of Leicester, a forest bath was needed to re-balance my mind and restore some calm.
It was lovely being back in a multicultured and vibrant town, but somehow, the hustle and bustle were overwhelming, and my mind felt like it had gone haywire.
As I roamed the streets I observed just how much everyone is caught up with consumerism. Much of the conversations I engaged in were centred on recent purchases, items that needed to be purchased, and other agendas, all dependent on external resources for happiness.
Everything seemed fake, and I felt like people were going to extremes to escape their realities. Elaborate hairstyles and extensions, eyelashes as big as eyes, faces plastered with makeup, and designer clothes, yet unhappy and unfriendly faces, with little humility in their body language and actions.
As I sat on the wood peacefully with a sense of serenity being restored, I started to analyse my feelings.
Is my minimalist lifestyle becoming extreme?
I don't think so, because the simplistic way that I live makes me blissful. My emotional and mental health is stable and balanced, and I'm making adjustments to increase my physicality to improve my physical health. I'm also satisfied with my ability to continuously create my inner happiness and find content in the activities that I engage in.
Still, the feeling of living in two parallel worlds has left me unsettled, and I will reexamine my life to see if perhaps I need to find a new balance.
I think it's important to do whatever makes me truly happy, but my thoughts were that I could research some economical, hassle-free alternative ways to travel and into bigger towns and cities such as London. Maybe visits to museums, exploring history, and taking moments to absorb the beautiful architecture of the streets of London would enhance and bring a new balance that is still in keeping with my minimalist way of life.
There are many thoughts and I just had to free my mind.
Images in the woods were taken just for this blog, as when I'm forest bathing I do not have any gadgets. I'm disconnected and in tune with the sounds and feels of nature, as I inhale positivity and exhale any negative energy that I sense in my body.
How do you maintain balance in your lives?
I wish you a happy Sunday and I hope that you're having a slow and easy one:)))