Simple living

Life should be simple. We often make it hard by adding more and more external layers to it. Work as a chore, hobbies we begrudgingly keep up for appearances. Cupboards full of clothes we don’t wear and stuff we don’t use. We’re suffocated by layers. We trundle through our days like the Michelin man, ricocheting away from our goals because we’re so weighed down.

Sometimes, you need to step back. Re-evaluate what is actually important to you. When you get down to it, life is really lived in the present moment. It’s about savouring the ordinary, reassuring routines around which we weave our days. It’s about contentment, rather than the continual pursuit of extraordinary happiness. Following your passion in your work. Creating something, whether that be a garden, art, a tasty meal or a new scarf. Embracing nature – surf, swim, run, walk, ride, cartwheel or backflip your way to a smile. When you start stripping off the layers you don’t need, you get closer to the real you.

It’s an oldie, but a goodie:

‘As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler’ – Thoreau