SIMPLE LIVING, SIMPLE THINKING.

Live a good and simple life. You will like it anyway. – Marriam

In the midst of a chaotic consumer culture and the world of the FMCGs (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) Revolution, bringing up a topic liked this sounds madness. Yes ..I wonder whether there would be any takers for this one. Simple life, Simple Thoughts.

No one can be blamed for the fast spinning illusion of Availability all over the world. Technology is abundant. Restaurants, malls, supermarkets…all other avenues abound – to splurge money and feel happy for the moment at least. We think we have it all. The ability to buy whatever we need is ingrained in everyone’s psyche. From a child to an adult, all that we are capable of thinking now is ‘shopping’ and ‘buying in excess’ for a rainy day.

Duration of Happiness with each purchase is only temporary.

Isn’t it true? Except for the essentials at home, we buy all other products like electronic gadgets, designer wares, clothes and other buyables that catches our fancy with a lot of jubilation and excitement. Sad to say, the gloss of novelty wears off as soon as the next advertisement or commercials come up. Then this becomes an outdated object and again we are on the run for the new.

The story goes on.

But there must be a change at some time or the other. We cannot keep on hoarding all the stuff that has been bought, over the years. Things that get accumulated over a period of time do not bring us any happiness. The house reels under ‘My Excesses’ ‘Your Excesses’ and ‘Others’ Excesses’. No space anywhere.

Dream of an Ideal Life:

When a home is set up, ideally the wife dreams of running a perfect Heaven as Home. She promises herself that she would be the model woman her man can be proud of, balancing work and home beautifully. Both of them would come home from work on time and to a clean house. She would be in full control of her life – always well-dressed and the latest in fad and fashion, would eat well, do yoga, read up, write journals, feel calm and peaceful and multitask and manage her work at the office.

But the truth gets to be otherwise.

Contrary to her resolutions, she becomes a shopaholic, a workaholic, stressed out on getting back after long hours of office. The home is a cluttered mess. All that meets the eye is an overflowing closet, shoes and bags – yet having nothing to wear for occasions. Compulsive shopping, poor money management, chronic fatigue, surviving on takeaways and fast food and the worst part is..having no time to take care of herself.

The husband contributes to the chaos or tries to help out. Again clutter piles up. Once the Buying Spree starts, it continues with new additions to the family.

Be Yourself, But Always Your Better Self.  –  Karl.G. Maeser

The idea of Minimalism:

There are ever so may aspects and views on minimalism which cannot be dealt within one or two lines here. Though there is a view that minimalism means living on minimum needs and sparsely at that, here the meaning of minimalism is taken to be the intentional choices you make when you buy things. Is there any connection between the things that you buy and the happiness that they bring you? We must choose to buy or have more of what matters most to us. All life long we work towards having the least of encumbrances but then these unnecessary accumulated stuff would block the energies in our homes.

It’s not how few things we own that matters. It’s whether we make these things count.

Enjoy Simple Living:

The popular belief is that we need to be ‘in’ with the Joneses and with the society at large. But it need not be so. We do not need to hoard or ‘shop’ for things that would cause anything but happiness in our lives.

Simple Living depends on how we run our everyday lives. No matter where we are, we can enjoy life in our own simple way.

Don’t wait for everything to be perfect before you decide to enjoy life. – Joyce Meyer

We can take things easy and not get harassed at our own failure to be perfect all the time.. Being a perfectionist is just a vision in mind. Homes may be messy, wardrobes may need arranging, de-cluttering may become necessary – but there is no point in losing ourselves over that.

We can do the best of what is within our control. Making a small space for ourselves – a reading nook or some space where we can retreat, or making prime time to spend with loved ones or family, finding ways to make household chores easy, making priority time for yourself, taking walks, enjoying and being one with Nature, playing with pets (if you have any), listening to music or making time for those hobbies which you had given up for lack of time.

Simple Living comes from simple acts of life. Simple thoughts urge you that life is not to be hoarded up for a better occasion. Live it out each moment. Each moment is precious..you will never get it back!

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. – Ralph Waldo Emerson.

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