'Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined.
As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler'
Henry David Thoreau
This is my favourite quote and one which has always meant a lot, it is one which I have taken different meanings from as I have grown older. The original line appeared in Thoreau's book, Walden and is much longer but over time it has been condensed to the above.
I had this pinned up over my desk at college and it gave me comfort to think that, yes, I was following my dreams.
Now it is more about the need to simplify my life. I have always felt the need to own 'stuff''. If I saw a book I wanted, well I just went on Amazon. The same with music, DVD's, well pretty much anything.
Now more than ever I feel compelled to clear, to get rid of all the stuff I have been boxing up and carting from house to house.
I am becoming more aware that the more we own, the more effort it takes to look after it, the more complicated it is. I used to think that I would be 'happy' if I lived in a bigger house - but why? It would just mean more cleaning, more worries about looking after it.
Perhaps that is why I love camping so much. With camping, life suddenly gets reduced to the essentials - a bed, a cup, a plate, a saucepan and a tent (although going with the kids, it is certainly much more than that!). I feel more relaxed when there is less around me.
Perhaps one day I will live in a cabin in the woods like Thoreau.
I have been getting rid of 'stuff' too. I have always felt the need to own 'stuff', mistakenly thinking it was the way to the happier life. Sure I have lots of 'stuff', but for the last couple of years I have not bought nearly as much (probably due to two teenage boys sucking every last penny out of me)and I am happier for it. I have everything I need, and I get pleasure from watching my boys grow and enjoy the experiences they have (with my money lol). I also ended up with the big house (the family homestead - husband is 4th generation), yeah its cool, but I am so sick of the dusting, vacuuming it takes ages and it is expensive to maintain, not to mention the garden.
ReplyDeleteDon't tell the husband, but I do enjoy the simple life that camping offers. When we do go we are very basic and its great! Why can't we live like that all the time??? Not, I like my home comforts too much lol! A simple life is a good life though.
We too are de cluttering. Our need to do so also comes from having lost both my in laws and having to empty their homes of 'stuff'. We knew we didn't want to put our own child through that so aim to get rid of as much stuff as we can. In order to also de-clutter what to do after we go, we have also made our wills and done our funeral plans! We may be nowhere near 'that age' hopefully, but costs rise all the time and we wanted him to not have to think about that side of things.
ReplyDeleteAnother declutter here! I don't own too much, but i still think i have a lot i can get rid of. I'm just fed up of having stuff that isn't needed, that isn't serving a purpose. I want to get rid of enough stuff, so that if my partner and i were to move again, we would only be able to fill a transit van. We have a whole flee of transit van stuff at the mo.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with all your decluttering:-)