A Lesson: on Simplicity
This morning, I sat on the steps holding a cup of coffee, warm + strong. The sounds of the birds - house sparrows, cardinals, robins - surrounded me and it felt incredibly alive. I watched and I listened. That’s all. So simple and so complete.
I relish these moments of relative nothingness or perhaps the better word choice might be, non-doing. Because the truth seems to continuously reveal, that held in simplicity is abundance. A paradox of how the nothingness can hold so much.
In the recent years, I have felt a strong pull toward simplicity. A whisper in my ear repeating the word, “simple simple simple.”
Over and over.
I didn’t know what to make of it. But it did shift my awareness. I started to notice everything that wasn’t simple. I also began to see the common thread of simplicity being woven through anything that deeply mattered. Love, connection, peace, beauty, all carried this thread of simplicity. Heeding to this whisper of simplicity, I’ve purposefully begun taking the steps to redesign my life so that it embodies more of what it means to be simple, more of what actually matters. And learning exactly what that is as I go.
Last week, a relatively “big” step in this lifestyle remodeling was completed. I closed on selling my home. I sold the house furnished and left the kitchen and rooms stocked with the “things” I once thought made a good home. I left the fancy Cuisinart mixer and juicer I learned I rarely used. I left the antique table I bought when I graduate college with its adorable claw feet. I moved that table too many times to count because it seemed to fit so perfectly into each new space. I left the rocking chairs I once craved to sit in, attempting to cultivate that southern front porch feel. I walked away from the gorgeous remodeled fireplace I designed and once dreamt would make the space feel more complete. It did, for a short awhile.
I left it all with the lesson of simplicity being: things don’t make a home.
Now, to be honest, I did pack up a handful of boxes that proved to mostly contain my books. I do really like my books and love the actual touch of the pages. I have leaned into the eco-friendly options of audible and kindle too, but nothing beats that tangible experience of holding, smelling, and seeing the ink on the pages. When I have my books on their shelves, I stop to randomly pick one, opening it to view the highlights and sometimes settling in to read a chapter.
Isn’t this a simple moment in itself? To be present with words on a page, taking them in, and seeing what they inspire in that exact moment? Never minding the fact you may have read it several times before? I like this thought, never quite realizing its simple beauty before hashing out these words.
Yet, I digress… back to the lesson. It’s an obvious one when we step back and reflect. Things don’t create a home. That’s exactly what simplicity reminds us of, that it’s not as complicated or convoluted as our minds might cause us to believe. But as humans, we too often forget what matters. We get tangled up in our desiring and longings, which is precisely where the damn complications come in. Simplicity becomes lost through all the unnecessary “stuff” we accumulate over time, and like that Cuisinart, are rarely put to good use. Sure it’s easy to see the material things packed in boxes in the garage or in that storage space you pay for each month. But how about stretching this into your emotional lockboxes too? Consider all the unnecessary “stuff’ you carry in your anxious thoughts and your worried heart. Consider all the “shoulds” you’ve been told about what will give you a fulfilled life. Consider the ideas you lug around of what you need to “do” and obtain to reach that glorified status of successful.
That’s the unnecessary stuff too.
Whether it’s material excess or emotional, both strip away and distract from what cultivates a feeling of true home, within yourself and in four walls. And as I’ve come to realize, there is an important difference between a house and that feeling of being at home.
I’ll continue this reflection on house + home next week. I’ll see you then. In the meantime, here are some reflections to journal on or take a stroll with. The heart and mind can do wonders when we contemplate while walking (and without AirPods might I add…). Jot a comment with your thoughts, I love reading them + connecting with you!
Where do I see excess in my life right now?
What’s in my emotional storage closet? How come I’ve resisted going in there and cleaning it out?
How can I create space for more non-doing simplicity where I’m fully present with where I am and what is happening in that moment?
