In this blog post I am going to explore the words ‘simple living’ and what that means for me.
The idea of simple living was sparked by a conversation with a relative. My relatives are pastors that live in the middle of nowhere, in a tiny house (by my standards), with no dishwasher and no television. They have a big yard with chickens. (the chickens are irrelevant to the story so I’m not sure why I am mentioning chickens). My relatives seem really happy. You know when you look at someone and they just look happy and relaxed.
So, I asked my relative about it. The conversation went like this:
—
Me: “so, why don’t you have a television? Are you into minimalism?”
Relative: “No. I would say our life is simple. We live simply.”
And I was like: “Okay?” (In my mind, I was thinking “I have not thought about simple living before. Interesting! But no television!!!”)
End of conversation.
—–
So, after that thought provoking discussion, I continued to think about simple living and my life. I considered their simple living and I concluded that:
- There is absolutely no way that I am getting rid of my television!
- I am not getting pet chickens!
- I am not moving into a tiny house!
- … But, I can learn simple living in way that works for me.
At this early point in my journey, simple living means having a peaceful, clean, affordable, unhurried and joyful day – everyday.
Learning simple living is going to be a big adjustment for both myself and my family. It is also going to take time, discipline and energy to work through the challenges. Because I am quite time poor, I need to take out something from my life to make room for this journey. Therefore, I have decided to undertake a challenge of not purchasing anything for a whole year. I am taking stuff away to make room to learn simple living and find financial freedom.
In my next blog post I will explore what financial freedom means for me.
If you would like to read about my No Buy Year, you can follow along with these blog posts.
Stay up to date with my blog by Finding My Simple Life on Facebook or Instagram.