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Many of us are seeking a simpler life. We are making homemade meals from scratch, we’re downsizing, purging and ridding our homes of useless clutter. We are saying no to social commitments and clearing our calendars of events that pull us away from the family unit, and we are making do and doing without to keep our finances under control.  We are living on less and still there are days that nothing about life seems simple!

seeking simple

We’re longing for a simple life…but really what we want is an easy life.   Are we asking for an easy life when we are seeking simple? If we are honest most of us would say that family is complicated, parenting is exhausting and homesteading is hard! 

So what are we actually seeking? Simple or Easy? I’m not sure about you, but I want a simple life that comes easy!

I wish it were that simple!

When we decided to move to the country we thought life would come easy.  Oh boy were we sadly mistaken.  We had to live in an RV for 2 years, learn how to grow a garden in sand, we had to build fences, dig ditches, chop wood, build barns, chase chickens, fight off coyotes, tackle alpacas, ward off angry bulls, butcher pigs, deal with droughts, hurricanes, rattlesnakes and marathon canning sessions. We’ve started projects only to run out of money before they are completed, changed jobs, dealt with death, watched children go off to war, and now are helping raise grandchildren. None of that is simple or easy.

There are days when I have to stand back and look for the simple in our lives. So many yearn for a simpler life and I have to believe what they are really looking for is an easier life. I can honestly say you don’t need to live in the country for that …you can have a simpler life no matter where you live. Simple living really has nothing to do with our homesteading lifestyle.  At first, we thought it was, but we soon learn that homesteading is hard work and the simple comes from within.  It’s all about living a life where you control your outcome…living of the world, …not in it. 

You set the standard for how you want to live whether that is SIMPLE or EASY.

  • Give up the crazy schedules and get back to your roots
  • Find balance in your family unit and look for ways to de-stress the world around you
  • Incorporate technology free zones and family only days
  • Invest time in your family, not money
  • Connect with nature not WiFi

Here are a few ways we have learned to keep our lives simple:

  1. Keep God first in your life
  2. Leave plenty of room in your calendars to just be still
  3. Find something to be joyful about every day
  4. Dig you hands in soil as much as you can and connect with the earth
  5. Don’t beat yourself up when you fail at something
  6. Always look forward and not back
  7. Continue to make do and do without to keep consumerism away from your front door
  8. Don’t become over stimulated…turn off the TV, Cell Phones, and iPads
  9. Feed the birds
  10. Plant a garden
  11. Spend time in rocking chair
  12. Connect with your community by getting to know your neighbors

If you have a desire to simplify your life, it’s easy all you have to do is figure out what is important to you and START!

Tracy Lynn

 

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DISCLOSURE: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation from affiliate and sponsored posts on this blog.

 

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