Simplicity Relished

minimalism for the adventurous heart

5 Ways to Relax When Your Mind Won’t Turn Off

My husband and I have enjoyed sharing meals since our very first date. We both love food, and have come to love it together– refining each other’s tastes and preferences as we explore culinary possibilities at home.

But my favorite thing about eating together is the conversation we’re able to have– that is, if my mind isn’t going 90 miles an hour. He’s gotten accusomted to pausing the conversation and asking me deliberately, “What’s on your mind?”

Most of the time, it’s easy for me to point to something: something that has nothing to do with our table conversation. Why do I do this? I’ve often wondered.

5 ways to relax when your mind won't turn off- simple practices to reduce stress easily at home …Continue Reading

Are You Ready For Minimalism? 5 Ways To Tell.

I don’t openly tell people (outside this blog community) that I’m a minimalist. I think there’s a certain image that comes to mind: whether aesthetic minimalism, extreme minimalism, or philosophical minimalism– and I don’t want to be immediately associated with those things.

Moreover, being a minimalist is not my primary, personal identity. As I’ve written before, minimalism is a vehicle that takes us somewhere we want to go. It lightens our load on the path forward. It helps us see clearly.

So even as minimalism continues to unfold as the buzzword of our decade, I want to stay true to why I write this blog. This space is designed to be a hub for those who have a goal, purpose, or raison d’être behind their desire to simplify. I want to encourage you– yes you– to pursue what it is that makes you come alive.

The irony is that, in order to be a “good minimalist” (if there is such a thing), you have to ground your identity in something else. And it needs to be something worth grounding yourself in.

5 signs you're ready for minimalism …Continue Reading

5 Ways to be More Intentional with Your Time

When we were in Morocco, our guide got used to us being 10-15 minutes late to everything. Eventually, he got tired of reassuring us and we got tired of apologizing– so he told us this: “In the West you have watch. In Africa we have time.”

I can still hear his accent and see his charming smile as he calmed his weary guests. Whether he ought to have spoken for the entire continent of Africa was irrelevant– I, on the other hand, am certainly familiar with the culture of rushing, even while on vacation. What is it that we love about efficiency?

5 Ways to be More Intentional with Your Time- how to make sure each day is meaningful and productive …Continue Reading

7 Ways to Make Today Matter

In the wake of tragedy– whether personal or global– we find ourselves asking questions that often lie dormant when things are going “just fine.”

The challenge of living in this tension we call the human experience, where we fluctuate between exceeding joy and exceeding despair, is choosing to make meaningful the small slice of agency we have, the domain that is ours alone.

One of the reasons why I’ve become such a champion of courage (I even wrote a short ebook on it here) is that I believe it gives us the ability to live with conviction. We can proclaim anything we want, but courage makes those convictions concrete.

7 ways to make today matter …Continue Reading

6 Indispensable Habits To Schedule Into Your Day

I’m becoming more and more aware that habits are built with intentionality and discipline. There’s a part of me that knows what I should do and desires those good things, while there’s another part of me that proves that those desires aren’t quite strong enough.

You see, we are creatures of habit, but we are not creatures who easily build new habits. We much more quickly fall out of discipline than into it, and we’ll much more readily discuss what we should be doing than actually do it.

I’ve been convicted about the changes I’ve been intending to make to my lifestyle, especially last week. I spent most of last week at home alone because Aaron was at a conference. Without my usual accountability partner and best friend around, my daily rhythms fell into a bit of disarray. So now I’m determined to cultivate these habits for good– and to commit to them solidly enough that I can maintain them even if no one else is around to keep me in check. 

6 Indispensable Habits To Schedule Into Your Day …Continue Reading

Grab A Button

Simplicity Relished
<div align="center"><a href="http://www.simplicityrelished.com" title="Simplicity Relished"><img src="http://simplicityrelished.com/wp-content/easy-cache/others/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/200x200_Button.jpg" alt="Simplicity Relished" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Archives

THANK YOU FOR VISITING SIMPLICITY RELISHED.

Disclaimer: Simplicity Relished is a for profit blog. Any company that I collaborate with is chosen by me and chosen because they fit the theme and readership of my blog. Copyright: If you see something you like here, please be encouraged to share it along with a link back to my site. All of the images and content here, unless otherwise noted or linked, is my own original work.