Simple life or a minimalist life is to reduce the time with superfluous things so that you have space to breathe. It is about having a simple life with less because you realize that having more and doing more does not lead to happiness.
In the last few years, I have lived a minimalist life, however sometimes, the complexity of my life increases, and I renew my commitment to live a simple life.
During my journey in search of a minimalist life, I learned some important lessons for living a simple life and thought about sharing some with you. Above all, we must find joy in simple things and be content with stillness, contemplation and enjoy the moment.
We create our own struggles.
All the stress, all the frustrations, and disappointments, all the occupations and runs, we are the ones who created them with attachments in our heads. By simply letting go, we can relax and live a simple life.
Distraction, occupation, and constant change are mental habits that keep us from a simple life.
We don't need any of these habits, but they accumulate over the years because they comfort us. We can live a simple life, abandoning these mental habits. What would life be like without constant change, distraction, and occupation? What would it be like if we committed to fewer things?
One thing at a time
Imagine that everything you do - a job task, replying to an email or message, reading an article - comes into focus and you can only open a window on your computer so that you don't do or see anything else. You are dedicated only to that task and are totally focused. What would your life be like? In my experience, it is much less stressful when you work and live that way. Your attention is focused on only one task and you perform them successfully, in addition, you can enjoy every moment of your simple life.
Create space between things
Do half of what you think you can do. We tend to cram as much as possible during our days. This becomes stressful because we always underestimate how long things are going to take and we forget about everyday tasks like putting on clothes, brushing our teeth, and preparing meals. We never feel like we have enough time because we try to do too much, but what would it be like if we did less? What would it be like if we knew how long things took so that we had time to really do them well and with full attention? What would it be like if we had a few minutes of pause between tasks, to savor the completion of the last task, to savor the space between things, to savor being alive?
Find joy in some simple things
For me, this includes writing, reading/learning, walking, eating simple food, meditating, spending quality time with the people that interest me. Most of this costs nothing or requires any goods (you can go to a library, meditate in your home with YouTube apps and videos, walk in the park). I am not saying that I have no possessions or that I only do these few things. But, as I remember the simple things I love to do, my life becomes simpler. When I remember, I can let go of everything my mind has fixed and find the simple joy of doing simple activities.
Be clear about what you want and say no often
We are rarely clear about what we want. When we see someone doing something cool, we suddenly start doing it too, and suddenly the course of our lives changes in a new direction. The same is true when reading about something interesting or watching a video of a new destination or hobby. When someone invites us to do it right away, we instantly want to say yes, because our minds love to say yes to everything. What if we became clear about what we want in life? If we knew what we want to create, how we want to live ... we could say yes to those things and not to everything else. Saying no to more would simplify our lives.
Practice doing nothing and enjoy the simple life
How many times do we really do nothing? OK, technically we’re always “doing something”, but you understand what I mean - just sit back and do nothing. You don't have to plan, you don't have to read, you don't have to watch something, you don't have to do a chore or eat while you don't do anything. Just don't do anything. Do nothing, take care of nothing. What happens is that you will begin to notice your brain's habit of wanting to do something - it will almost itch to do something. This exposes our mental habits, which is a good thing. However, keep doing nothing. Just sit for a while, resisting the urge to do something. After some practice, you can be good at doing nothing. And that leads to the mental habit of contentment, gratitude without complaining.
Obviously, these are not the only lessons necessary for a simple life, certainly, the best are the ones you discover yourself.
I hope it made your day a little better.
If you like it, consider subscribing 😉
