As For Me and My House We Choose Simplicity

It seems everyone likes to read about a simple life.
It's an idea that comforts us and makes us think that there is something better out there.
We may not know how to have it but we like to think of those who do.

Often we think a simple life involves a little piece of land, maybe some woods and a garden spot.
We may think it means living off the land or having very little in the way of  worldly goods.

We tend to think of the, "Walton's" or "Little House on the Prairie" or even the Amish  when we think of the simple life.

What was it or is it that makes us think they had the simple life?

I'm sure Charles Ingalls and John Walton didn't feel they had a simple life.  They had a hard life. They had to work from sunup until sundown to take care of their families.  At times they had bills they couldn't pay.

The Amish women work  hard, lots of them still cook on wood cook stoves, They can only take a bath once a week.  What we look at and think is simple is in reality a very hard life with very little being simple. They just don't simply do anything. Everything is a lot of work.

It can't be the lack of work or responsibility that makes us think those types of lifestyles are simple, we can easily see that's not the case. 

So what is it, what makes what they had or have seem so appealing to us?

It's more than one thing I know but one of the big things is family and home.

All of those people lived a life based on home and family. Everything was and is for family.

That's something that isn't as far out of our grasp as we might think.  To a large degree it's attitude.  You can have a simple life living in an apartment, working full time and raising a family in New York City.

Simplicity can just mean not overwhelming, it can mean under control.  Simplicity isn't dependent on where you live it's dependent on how you live.

You can live a simple life if you catch the subway everyday or if you gather eggs every morning.
It's  a matter of the heart, it's a matter of contentment and peace.

Don't live your life dreaming of the simple life, take hold of the simple life.
Decide to be in control, decide to slow down. Don't overcrowd your life. We all need some wide open space in our life.

In her book "Living Simply"  Joanne Helm says she was lying in bed thinking about an abundant or simple life and how Jesus said He came to give us life and life abundantly, then she wondered if abundant/overflowing meant full to the brim. Did it mean we were full up without room for more? 

Or, she asked, does it mean filled with wide open space does it mean time for everything?  She said she hoped it was the latter because she didn't want her life to be hectic and pressed, but filled with joy and the things that make life worth living.

That's what the simple life is.  It's a life not cluttered up with filler but filled  with what counts. It's having time and space to live.  It's not about wide open as in the country but wide open in your spirit. It's about having room to let life happen because it's going to happen.

The simple life isn't the mystery we make of it.  It's available to all of us in some form or the other.
We just have to stop dreaming about it, talking about and wishing for it and live it.

Simplicity isn't a matter of location or time in history and it doesn't mean easy. Most things worth having aren't easy.

Simplicity, it starts and ends in the heart.

Have a good day and remember, keep it simple and uncluttered.



  







Comments

  1. Great post! I think sometimes in the quest for "simple", people tend to over complicate or think it's something "out there". I like how you explained it, and I'm going to be sharing your post today on my facebook page. :) - Amy, A Farmish Kind of Life

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  2. Thank you so much Amy. Words like these coming from another blogger always touch my heart. I appreciate your kindness and your love of the simple life.

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  3. Wonderful post and right on!! We live a simple life and it's not because we have chickens or garden. It's because our family life is more important than anything! Several in our extended family has trouble with that filler part..they are filling those holes with material items, with wants and with time spent doing anything but be with the family..and soon they'll see that that is fine if you are happy but it doesn't last. I choose family over filler :) Thank you for a good post to start my day..I truly liked it :)

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    1. Thanks so much. I would say it sounds like we are like minded. I'm excited to hear from you and about the way you love your life and family. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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  4. I love your post! Simple is not easy... And I agree that the appeal is a life centered on home and family. I would add that part of it is the tangible-ness of doing and making something yourself. We have an innate God-given need to create and that's why it's so satisfying.

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    1. Thank you Kathy. I like your thought about us having an innate God given need to create. That's a wonderful thought and truth!

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  5. I needed this tonight. Words that filled my heart!

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    1. I'm so glad it filled your heart. What a sweet way to put it. I think we all need a reminded every now and again. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Ashley!

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