The Many Aspects of Simplicity in Our Lives
Some years ago, there was actually a "Voluntary Simplicity" movement which — as I recall — was somewhat of a pushback against the cornucopia of consumption that typifies western industrialized life.
I briefly looked at this particular concept because I have long had an attraction towards minimalism or at least living a less cluttered life.
I believe it's good for our overall health to have "less stuff" dominating our surroundings... but simplicity isn't necessarily just about "stuff."
In many cases, it's also about cleaning up our minds and our thoughts, which can also become very cluttered with "randomness" that's not actually contributing to our happiness and sense of well-being.
I got to thinking about his earlier today as I found myself struggling a bit to keep my focus on doing my work. There were just too many thoughts about other things, bouncing around in my head.
"Clutter" really takes many forms.
Often, some of the most insidious ones are mental, rather than physical. Perhaps we don't pay attention to them because they are not tangible and visible, like a coffee table overflowing with books, magazines and part of projects "we've been meaning to get around to."
But clutter of the mind can actually feel quite overwhelming and immobilizing. Well... at least that's how I experience it.
I expect that some of that might be related to our ADHD-ish society, always encouraging us to keep our eyes on so many different things, in the guise of them creating "the good life."
But what good is that life, really, if your mind is too busy processing 35 parallel thoughts of things you must pay attention to... thereby preventing you form being present in the moment and activity right in front of our nose.
In general, our species is "wired" in such a way that we get more enjoyment from actually being engaged in something we enjoy than just thinking about such things, and planning such things.
I often feel "guilty as charged" on some of those, because I am an almost pathological planner... always mapping and planning what I am going to do, with charts, schedules and much more... and I know that I would definitely benefit from setting the plans aside and just engaging fully with what is in front of me.
One of my plans for 2024 was to more dedicatedly apply the "three things" approach.
It's a way of doing things where you don't allow yourself to try to actively work on more than three things, concurrently. The intention is to counteract the problem of never getting anything done because you always have too many things you need to get done.
Just pick three, and deal with them!
And be content that the things not in the main three will either fade away, or be taken care of... eventually. Set priorities!
So far... it's going so-so, but I am going to keep trying!
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great remainder of the week!
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Created at 2024-02-06 00:51 PST
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