Could living a simpler life make us happier?
Away from the busy and into the calm.
We live in a world of convenience. Convenient highly processed packaged foods that are mostly devoid of nutrition and do little for our health. Next day delivery for most purchased products (hi, Amazon). Takeaways to our doorstep. WhatsApp and social media to instantly ‘connect’ with others. But convenience does not necessarily equate to happiness.
But convenience does not necessarily equate to happiness. Whilst this world of convenience comes with its positives, it is also a world that can make us feel highly anxious. We are living at such a fast pace where everything is at our fingertips. And we just want more more more. We live for the next thing, the next moment, the next purchase.
Is this way of living fulfilling us at our deepest core as humans? Is all this convenience making us happy? Could living a simpler and slower existence make us happier?
The lure of convenience robs us of growing, cooking, making, mending. And taking the time to really engage and enjoy, bringing a sense of calm and contentment.
Living more presently and slowing yours and your families lives down through mindful acts and activities where possible will likely inject a sense of calm into our lives.
It is about finding or rediscovering the aspects of life that REALLY matter and having time to value and enjoy them.
See below for 5 considerations for living more simply in a very busy and fast paced world. Which one would you choose to start doing more of today?
1. Grow your own
Even if we have the smallest of garden spaces, could we consider starting to grow some of our own vegetables in potted plants? It is a mindful, creative and grounding activity to do with children, giving them a lovely insight into where the food we eat comes from (not just the supermarket shelves!)
2. Be at one with nature
Nature costs nothing and makes us feel more present and alive. Could we try to immerse ourselves with the outdoors more regularly? This simple pleasure can be often overlooked by the busy, crowded and noisy world we live in. Seeking solace in the outdoors as regularly as possible does so much for mind, body and soul. Allow yourself the time for you and family to take in the beauty of nature.
3. Create
Cook with your young ones - make fruit jams, bread, fresh smoothies, banana bread. Little hands (and big hands for that matter) were built for making things; it’s an innate part of human nature. Perhaps this could be an activity that features more regularly during school / playgroup holidays, it’s a fun and bonding experience that doesn’t cost much.
4. Repair your junk
Repairing things is no longer the default solution when something breaks or wears out. We just throw it out and buy a new one. I want, therefore I'll buy, is a mentality that will rarely make us truly happy. It leaves us just wanting more as we always think there is going to be something better around the corner. Put the sunshine back into your old and worn belongings rather than accumulating more and more ‘stuff’.
5. Community & connection
How often do we reach for our mobile phones as soon as we wake up? Even worse, look at social media. It sets our mood state for the morning depending on what we are exposed to online.
What really matters is what is going on in the real, unfiltered world on our doorstep.
Final musings…
To live more simply requires a conscious and more considered state of mind. One that is calm, unhurried and undistracted.
Doing things with the lure of convenience often robs us of growing, cooking, making, mending and taking the time to do these things properly. These can really be so fulfilling and bring a sense of contentment rather than the all too frequent busy and stressed state we live in.