Monday, January 9, 2012

The Year of Simplicity


I know. This is SO not a picture of simplicity. It is quite the opposite. But Elvis and his junky flea market entourage were just begging to make a cameo in the post.  

I love the idea of resolutions. A new year provides the perfect opportunity for start-overs, makeovers, and do-overs. Whether you're a resolution-ish person or not, I think most of us crave an invitation to embark on an adventure in change. 

Fresh starts and clean slates, whether an everyday new morning or a crazy new opportunity, have a way of refocusing and revitalizing our tired and mired-down selves.  

This year I didn't make any formal resolutions. Oh I have a few loose plans and goals but I don't want to be held hostage to them. Instead I came up with a word that encompasses all the {loosely-held} goals I have swimming around in my head.

Simplicity.

As I mentally surveyed the tasks and changes I hope to work out in this new year, I realized that they all fall under the umbrella of life lived more simply.

So I thought I'd spend the next few posts running with this theme. I hope to talk about the ways in which simple living is being cultivated in the everyday, how it's affecting everything from home to motherhood, from making rest a priority to how I think about God. 

There are lots of simple gurus out there. I'm not one of them. I'm just an average woman who's been through a year {many years actually} of too much.

I'd like to change that. {Get thee behind me, flea-market Elvis.}

So I'm letting go, paring down, sitting still, and making space in the overcrowded margins of my life. And I look forward to sharing my hopes and adventures with you.

So what about you? Any plans to simplify in 2012?

5 comments:

  1. Hello there! i´ve been following for a while...a big while. I just wanted you to know your blog is impossible to read in google reader... it just shows about 4 lines or so. That´s aweful because its harder to read via mobile, you must "click" in order to go to your blog and thats a pain in... your clock. tic tac tic tac. I´ll really LOVE to keep reading you, cause you sound real :D but please please fix that! millions of people use google reader to keep in touch with their favorite bloggers. Best regards!

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  2. I am so into simplifying this year. In fact, I posted about this too last night. I can't wait to jump back and take it easy, say no once in a while and delete a little.

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  3. Funny you wrote about this today. We spent the majority of yesterday cleaning out and simplifying our basement and side porch closet. After removing a huge pile to the curb and another to be taken to donate, I love the open spaces and walking through it without all the clutter.

    Less clutter in my space = less clutter in my brain = simplify.

    For me anyway!

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  4. Just started reading the book - 7 an experimental mutiny against excess by Jen Hatmaker. It talks about too much - food, clothes, possessions, media, waste, spending and stress. Should be an interesting read.

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  5. Have you ever read Freedom of Simplicity by Richard J. Foster? Richard was simple when simple wasn't cool. Real food for thought!

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